The summer of 2022 was always going to be a key one in the goalkeeping department at Tottenham with a number of players out of contract. Last signing a contract extension back in December 2016, Hugo Lloris' long-term future was up in the air with the World Cup winner entering the final few years of his career.
Amid talk of a return to France at some point before hanging up his gloves, there was always the possibility that the 2021/22 campaign would be the Frenchman's last at Tottenham following a decade at the club. Question marks then surrounded what would happen with Pierluigi Gollini come the end of his loan spell from Italian side Atalanta. Getting game time in the cup competitions, the Italian had not done enough to push Lloris for a permanent spot in the team but the Lilywhites still faced a decision over whether to make his loan move permanent or not due to a clause in their deal with the Serie A club.
That wasn't it in terms of between the sticks either as young duo Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman's deals were also set to expire at the end of June. With so much to be done at the club this summer to help take Antonio Conte's team to the next level, there was the possibility of the club's four goalkeepers moving on elsewhere, thus handing Fabio Paratici a huge Tottenham summer transfer mission in the process.
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Amid the uncertainty over Lloris as he entered the final six months of his deal and could now talk to foreign clubs about a contract for the 2022/23 campaign, Spurs announced midway through January that the 35-year-old had extended his deal until the summer of 2024 after signing a new two-and-a-half year contract. Claiming it was an easy decision to put pen-to-paper on fresh terms, Paratici and Spurs at least knew now that a new No.1 wasn't going to be at the top of his summer shopping list.
Two months later and third-choice goalkeeper Austin followed suit, penning a two-year deal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. While the club haven't officially announced a contract extension for Whiteman, the news back in February that he had rejoined Degerfors for the duration of the 2022 Swedish Allsvenskan season did seem to indicate that his stay at Tottenham has been extended as their campaign doesn't come to a close until the start of November.
Tottenham do tend to have the option in a young player's contract to extend it by a further year, something they have more than likely activated in Whiteman's deal to keep him at the club. After all, the 23-year-old would have been named on the list of players leaving Tottenham this summer that was published on Thursday evening if his contract had not been extended.
The list did confirm the news that Gollini's stay at the club would not be extended and he would instead return to Atalanta. Making ten appearances for the Lilywhites in all competitions, the Italian did not make the necessary 20 appearances for Spurs that would have seen his move become permanent nor did Spurs take up the £12.9million option within his loan deal.
Rather a lot of money to spend on a backup goalkeeper for Lloris, Spurs can instead put that money to better use and strengthen elsewhere in Conte's squad. Paratici has already found a replacement for the former Aston Villa shot-stopper, with Southampton's Fraser Forster looking set to sign on a free transfer once his contract at St Mary's expires.
Gollini isn't the only goalkeeper who will depart N17 at the end of June, however, as it was also confirmed that development squad goalkeepers Kacper Kurylowicz, Thimothee Lo-Tutala, Josh Oluwayemi and Isak Solberg would all leave following the conclusion of their contracts. Always looking set to be a key summer for the club in terms of the goalkeeping department, the news that five will move on means it is going to be all change by the time August comes around.
Paratici has made a start with Forster set to be officially announced as a Tottenham player sooner rather than later to ensure Spurs have three goalkeepers sorted for their first-team squad in 2022/23. Spurs now need to decide what happens with the development squad as they will have to look at bringing in a new goalkeeper or two unless the likes of Adam Hayton and Aaron Maguire step up from the U18s.
There really is plenty to do in north London this summer.
