Everton Transfers: Can Joel Robles Provide Genuine Competition for Tim Howard?

During seven years at Everton, Tim Howard has never experienced any form of scrap for his place.

The American came in as a replacement for Nigel Martyn, and since then, none of Richard Wright, John Ruddy, Iain Turner, Stefan Wessels, Carlo Nash, Jan Mucha or Marcus Hahnemann have ever been remotely close to ousting him as first choice.

David Moyes rarely saw the need to invest in a first team prospect behind him and, aside from Ruddy, all of those goalkeepers would be good additions to a footballers' 'Where Are They Now' quiz.

With Roberto Martinez bringing in young Joel Robles and handing him a five-year contract, the dynamic within Everton's goalkeeping core will have almost certainly changed—and about time too. But how much pressure can the Spaniard put on his new club colleague?

Due to its primitive status there's not a great deal of relevant material to assess Joel's career so far, so a lot must come down to reputation and perceived pedigree.

The fact he's consistently been in and around highly competitive international squads and made appearances at Under-16, 17, 21 and 23 level show he's certainly rated in Spain. Much has been done to ensure he progresses well and maximises his potential.

Stylistically, as the above video will demonstrate, he plays with a very modern technique. He maintains his ground and size until the last minute, is very accomplished in one-on-one situations and frequently saves with his feet, as David De Gea does so successfully at Manchester United.

He is also comfortable in possession and playing out from the back, which fits in well with the approach Martinez will play at Everton.

Away from these technical attributes, he's very vocal and is also a huge presence, standing at almost two metres tall—eight centimetres taller than Howard.

Everton struggled last season against physical strikers and his stature would certainly help this weakness. While his statistics aren't really worth delving into, he was marginally better at crosses than Howard last season, effectively dealing with 96 percent to the American's 94 percent.

Another noticeable trait is his confidence, something Martinez alludes to in some recent quotes for the Liverpool Daily Post:

"

Joel is a very confident man and I thought he performed (against Austria Vienna) like a player who has been at Everton for years.

Probably that’s the biggest strength that he has – he’s got a real mental strength and a maturity and I’m sure the fans enjoyed what they saw of him.

"

However, as much as his attributes should lead to a successful career in goal, it would be a considerable gamble to suddenly insert Joel as new No. 1 at Everton any time soon.  He played 13 games for Wigan last year and did enough to usurp Ali Al-Habsi, but other than that, his club career has only consisted of a handful of appearances for Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano.

This is certainly in stark contrast to Howard, who's missed just two Premier League games over the past five years. He is his national team's No.1, has a wealth of experience and, crucially, is considered one of the Toffees' leaders in the dressing room. 

The key word with Joel is potential. There's no question that Howard will start the season in goal for Everton and Joel will probably do well to make a Premier League appearance. But by signing a five-year deal it's quite clear Martinez sees him in his future plans and it's essential he doesn't stagnate while waiting in the wings.

In the short term, it seems he will take the gloves for Everton's early Cup games and, should the Toffees make the Europa League next season, he would also be likely to feature there.

Howard did start last season poorly, and in statistical terms he was in line for his worst year at the Toffees by as late as March, yet it would take a run of sizeable gaffes to see him displaced so soon by a relatively inexperienced 23-year-old.

The American's game certainly hasn't advanced over the last few years, perhaps due to a lack of competition, but he was far more consistent over the final 10 Premier League games.

It's important Howard starts as he finished last season and reacts well to this pressure, something he hasn't felt for a number of years. Joel has clearly arrived to compete and, in theory, this should lead to both goalkeepers continually pushing each other towards excellence.  

There shouldn't be any radical overhaul this season, but if it all works out as planned then Everton will have a healthy situation for the next few years in goal. Howard could end up flourishing, as so many veteran goalkeepers do, as an improving Joel continually increases the standard before eventually winning the gloves.

Statistics via EPL Index and Squawka. 

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