:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68643004/1206079705.0.jpg)
If you’ve been wondering the status of the LA Galaxy’s goalkeeping situation for the 2021 season, an intriguing potential development emerged Friday, when a report out of England dropped claiming the Galaxy are in talks to sign goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.
The 27-year-old currently plays for West Brom in the Premier League, but he’s served as a backup and has therefore only seen playing time in reserve games and the occasional cup match.
The original report came from the Daily Mail on Friday, before those reports were confirmed stateside by the LA Times’ Kevin Baxter and Corner of the Galaxy, although the American outlets said the deal is not yet done.
An @LAGalaxy spokesman confirms this report but said "nothing is formally done" and "the club is working with the player." An announcement could be made next week. https://t.co/87KZmnqzJ3
— Kevin Baxter (@kbaxter11) January 8, 2021
Bond was born in England and came through the ranks at Watford, turning pro in the 2010-11 season.
To date he’s played a variety of levels in England, with loan spells at Brackley Town, Forest Green Rovers, Dagenham & Redbridge and Bury, before heading to Reading in 2015 and getting loan time with Gillingham and Peterborough United while with the Royals. He joined West Brom in 2018.
He really hasn’t played a ton of pro games despite his age — looks like just over 100, with the bulk of those coming as the starter during his stint with Peterborough in 2017-18, so this is a bit intriguing. Bond is a former Wales and England youth international, but Corner of the Galaxy reports he has a U.S. passport and therefore likely won’t count as an international player on the roster.
There’s also the pay factor. Backup goalkeepers usually don’t make huge money compared to their teammates, but a player who is on a Premier League roster may earn and command a lot of money relatively speaking. If that’s the case, is he the automatic starter for 2021? Or is he going to continue to primarily be a backup and insurance policy? If that’s the case, who will the starter be?
I guess we’ll find all that out if and when the deal is complete. Considering West Brom have already signed a replacement for him, it seems pretty likely the deal will get done, but obviously we’ll have to wait for the official word before we get a sense of how he’ll fit in Greg Vanney’s plans for the coming season.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.