OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini will have several massive decisions to make this summer as he sets about his work as the new manager of West Ham United.
One of his first areas of priority will be in goal, with Manchester City loanee Joe Hart having returned to his parent club following the end of his year-long loan spell.
And, according to The Sun, Pellegrini may also be forced into replacing Hammers stalwart Adrian, who is set to quit the London Stadium this summer.
That leaves the Chilean hunting two new goalkeepers in the coming weeks, and the Sun claim that he has already identified Chelsea stopper Willy Caballero as someone he would like to bring in.
On top of that it is claimed that Pellegrini has complete trust in the 36-year-old, who has played under him at Malaga and City, and is ready to instate him as the club’s number one next season.
If this worrying report is true, then Pellegrini is about to make a massive error of judgement.
Caballero is a good goalkeeper, there is no denying that. He single-handedly won Pellegrini his first trophy as City boss by saving three Liverpool penalties in the League Cup final in 2014.
However, the Argentine has also shown consistent signs of vulnerability during his time in England, and there is no doubt that there would be a few scares at the London Stadium should he be signed and become their number one.
There are major questions over the error-prone Caballero’s handling, with his relatively small 6ft 1in frame causing him problems when it comes to catching crosses and competing with opposition players.
His distribution is also dodgy, and that is a massive factor for goalkeepers in the modern game.
His age, with Caballero now 36 years old, is also an issue, with the Argentine surely unable to offer the Hammers any long-term guarantees.
Pellegrini must therefore bin his pursuit of Caballero and begin his goalkeeper search again, looking to bring in someone a bit younger and more dynamic than the experienced Argentine.
