Former Croatia international Vedran Runje believes Gent No.1 Lovre Kalinic is ready for the Premier League. Kalinic was on the verge of joining Aston Villa in the last window, but the deal collapsed due to work permit problems.
Speaking to HLN, Runje compared 27 year old Kalinic to Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois in the way they don’t try to be spectacular. The former Marseille player believes Kalinic could be a success in the Premier League, and that he should already be playing in England with Aston Villa.
“Lovre has the same style as Courtois. Large and well positioned, so you will not see them do any spectacular saves. Lovre could easily play in the Premier League, he’s ready for it. The only reason why he does not play in England is because he had no work permit when Aston Villa contacted him,” said Runje.
Aston Villa had agreed a fee of £4.9m with Hajduk Split to sign Kalinic in the last window, before the transfer fell apart. Speaking about a possible move to Aston Villa Kalinic said he was disappointed it didn’t materialise: “I did not get that licence because I do not have enough caps for my country. Whether I was disappointed? Yes.”
It’s been reported Aston Villa twice tried to get the deal across the line with the FA, but were rejected on both occasions. Instead the Championship side brought in Sam Johnstone on loan from Manchester United and Steve Bruce is a big backer of the goalkeeper, despite a shaky start.
