Tottenham appear to have solved their search to find Hugo Lloris' long-term successor with the imminent arrival of Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli. One of the club's top priorities this summer with the World Cup winner signalling his intent to move on for a new challenge elsewhere, it had presented the Lilywhites with a tricky challenge in trying to find the perfect man to replace Lloris after 11 years of excellent service.
Looking like David Raya would move across London and swap Brentford for Tottenham, the Bees' £40million asking price for the Spaniard saw Spurs instead push forward with a deal for Vicario. The 26-year-old is in line to join Spurs for a reported €19million (£16.3million).
Tottenham have stolen a march on a number of teams in the process, with the likes of Juventus, Napoli, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Manchester United all linked with the highly-rated shot-stopper in the past. Described as someone who "is doing things out of the ordinary" by Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon, it appears that Ange Postecoglou's men are getting quite the goalkeeper.
His form over the past two years for Empoli would certainly suggest that. Seen as one of the best goalkeepers in Serie A, Vicario has been rewarded for his fine performances with a call-up to the Italian national team on a few occasions but he is still waiting for his first cap to come his way.
While many fans may rue Tottenham's decision not to match Brentford's asking price for Raya, their hefty price tag may turn others away in the process as the goalkeeper will be available on a free transfer next summer. It is something that could potentially return to haunt them in 12 months' time if the ex-Blackburn Rovers man remains in west London for the upcoming season and then departs for nothing.
Tottenham's move for Vicario rather than shelling out £40m for Raya will see them save £23.7m in the process, which they can now put towards other summer transfers as they look to strengthen Postecoglou's squad. With a move for Vicario looking set to be sealed in the coming days, the Italian will be the club's second addition ahead of the 2023/24 season after they completed the permanent signing of Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus last Saturday.
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Impressing in his 18-month loan deal from the Bianconeri, Spurs have also managed to save some more money by agreeing on a reduced fee for the Swede. Paying €30m (£25.6m), which is to be paid in six financial years, for the 23-year-old, the initial agreement with Juventus as part of the loan deal was that Tottenham had the option to purchase Kulusevski for €35m (£29.9m) and it was payable within five years had his transfer not become automatic anyway due to their obligation to buy him had they qualified for the Champions League.
Daniel Levy and Tottenham's negotiations with Juventus has resulted in Spurs saving another £4.3m off the price tag and another year in which to pay off the money. So, Tottenham have already saved £28m by renegotiating for the attacker and by opting to move for Vicario over Raya.
A vitally important summer for Tottenham with the club having a number of areas to strengthen for Postecoglou, Spurs can now put the £28m saved towards other deals ahead of the new campaign. The money could play a key role in bringing in a top-quality centre-back to take Spurs' backline to the next level or it could be put towards bringing James Maddison in from Leicester City as Tottenham look to add even more quality to the final third.
The £28m will hopefully go a long way to ensuring Spurs get back on track and start challenging towards the top again after an extremely frustrating 2022/23 campaign.
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