Shea won’t be back until at best 2023 late into season. They know in Horvath they have potential to profit from him after this season. If he delivers they can purchase him and then sell for a profit these guys play by money ball mentality. Shea is potentially their longer term solution as he signed a longer term deal after his injury.
They bought one keeper and are bringing in another on lona. Who do you think they think of as their number one?
"So I'm going to play in the league?" "Yes, you're going to play in the league." "Wait a minute. They tricked me before. By saying that, you don't mean I'm going to play just one game in the league and after that nothing, right?" "Right." "You're bringing me to be #1, then." "Yes, you'll be #1." "Ok, I needed to make sure. Last time..." "You can trust us." Result: They give him the #1 and he plays _two_ games in the league.
True, but - according to @futbal nut - Ethan's loan deal will include an option to buy, which is not quite the same as an ordinary loan and is likely behind the haggling over the salary split dragging on.
A product of the Arsenal youth system Macey's got talent, is the same age as Ethan and hasn't signed from Hibernian to sit on the bench either. Competition for places is part and parcel of team sports and the Championship is easily a Top 10 league in Europe by finances. Not having chumps as competition for PT comes with Ethan's upper-Championship salary. And being able to fight off said not-chumps is a requirement for MNT play, no?
Competition for places, duh. This is the Championship. Even at a small club like Luton, a serious competitor for your starting slot will be good enough to start for a tier-two side outside Europe's Top 5. That's doubly true for GKs. As Sean Connery said, "there can be only one".
We are delighted to announce the signing of USA international goalkeeper Ethan Horvath on a season-long loan from Nottingham Forest! ✍#COYH— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) July 2, 2022 on the plus side they didnt call him "ethany"
I truly hope so, but I am now very skeptical of this deal. It sounds like it could be a repeat of the Forest situation.
Good move if Ethan has that #1 shirt. There’s a lot riding on this move like a WC roster spot. Ethan knows this. Everyone knows this. Time to rise to the challenge. The pressure is on. As for Macey, I’ve seen him many times for Hibs. He’s decent. Never really seen anything out of him that says “oh wow” or anything out of him that says “eeew that’s bad”. Macey will be competition but with the motivation of being in a WC and potentially earning a permanent home, I suspect Ethan is going to rise to the challenge. Now show us, Ethan!
It's a perfectly fine situation. I'd expect him to win the job over Macey pretty easily, unless Luton's manager is seriously biased to foot skills, and his competition is vastly superior in the department. When it comes to shot-stopping, he's leagues better. Macey had a save % of 70.7 in Scotland. I don't see his # for his last notable starting gig in League 1, but his GA/90 was almost 2, for dead last in the division. Horvath's save %/GA90 has been around 80%/1 GA90 the last several years and at much higher levels. Horvath also has the bonus of being on high wages for the C'Ship apparently, and there being a purchase option on the loan to invest his new club in him. This probably positions Horvath well for a spot at the WC & allows us to compare him directly to Steffen. Also, he will likely be starting, where Turner will in all likelihood not be. Edit: His toughest comp will be Shea, looking at it. If Horvath doesn't win the job, that's who will beat him out. And apparently it wouldn't be until a while from now, considering he's out. In the meantime, Ethan will get his chance. I just didn't get the hype for Macey after looking at it. He's the afterthought in the situation.