Tottenham have been scouring the market to find the goalkeeper they believe can eventually prove to be the long-term successor to Hugo Lloris, football.london understands.
Spurs have not had to worry too much about the goalkeeping position and any potential big money moves in that department over the past 11 years with Lloris having been firmly the club's first choice since his arrival from Lyon in the summer of 2012. Now, with the World Cup winner having turned 36 and with just over a year remaining on his contract, the north London club are finally looking to bring in the Frenchman's heir apparent this summer.
Lloris, who retired last month from international football after reaching another World Cup final with France, must also decide what comes next for him. The Spurs captain is currently out until at least late next month with knee ligament damage and when the experienced stopper returns he will have to decide whether to fight for his spot next season with any potential newcomer or bow out as he did with his international career.
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Lloris once said that he did not believe that Tottenham would be his final club in his playing career and he has long been linked with a return to his hometown club Nice, while a spell in the USA's MLS has also been mooted over the years.
It's also worth noting that the last time Lloris returned from a long-term injury, a dislocated elbow suffered against Brighton in 2019, he went on to play some of the most consistent football of his career. So his return for the final couple of months of this season could also bring a refreshed, focused Spurs skipper and that may have an impact on his own belief in his ability to continue competing at the top.
Lloris' back-up at Tottenham, the experienced England international Fraser Forster, also has a deal for another 16 months as does Brandon Austin, while Alfie Whiteman signed a new contract this week until 2025.
football.london first reported in December that Spurs are planning to make a move for a new long-term first choice goalkeeper this summer, having had a couple of misfiring attempts to do so in the past. A loan move for Pau Lopez as a potential heir did not come to anything after the Spaniard failed to play a single game under Mauricio Pochettino in the 2016/17 season, but the 28-year-old has since carved out a good career for himself in Serie A at Roma and recently Ligue 1 with Marseille.
Then in 2021, with Lloris' original contract in its final year, the then newly-appointed managing director of football Fabio Paratici brought in Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini on loan with an option to buy with he and Nuno Espirito Santo believing the Italian would soon edge out the Frenchman.
It did not prove to be the case at all. Gollini looked shaky in some of the cup games he was called upon and Lloris responded to the competition with increasingly stronger performances, earning himself his first new contract in years, with a new two-year deal penned until the summer of 2024. That Lloris had to almost see out the long six-year deal he signed in 2016 until he got a new one was a bone of contention within Spurs, with some feeling the captain was always underrated by the club's hierarchy even if most of the managers during his decade rated him highly.
Securing the right man as Lloris' successor is going to be a difficult challenge. Spurs have often found it problematic to replace long-serving members of their team as their mixed attempts to find successors to Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen have shown in recent years and the thought of replacing Harry Kane eventually will be a frightening one.
When it comes to the goalkeeping department, football.london understands that some of the names on Tottenham's shortlist include Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, Brentford's David Raya, Brighton stopper Robert Sanchez and AC Milan's Mike Maignan. In recent seasons Spurs have also looked at the older Argentina and ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak and, as potential homegrown options, Manchester United's Dean Henderson, who is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest, and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who is set to sign a new contract with Everton.
Spurs have been tracking 22-year-old Mamardashvili for a couple of seasons as one for the future. The Georgian signed a new long-term deal until 2027 in September with a reported €100million (£88million) release clause, but Valencia's financial problems mean a far lower valuation is expected and the Spanish club's perilous position near the foot of the La Liga table will not help their circumstances.
Raya, 27, has been attracting plenty of admirers with his performances for Brentford in the Premier League and the fact that the Barcelona-born keeper's contract is running out next year will also make him a cost-effective option for Tottenham among others. He also counts as homegrown after moving to Blackburn's academy as a youngster.
Raya has turned down two offers from Brentford to ink a new deal and his manager Thomas Frank admitted recently that his contract situation makes the chances of him staying unlikely.
The 25-year-old Sanchez has two years left on his deal with Brighton and the Spaniard, who is considered homegrown after moving to the south coast club at 15, has been an ever-present for the Seagulls since breaking through from the youth academy. He is also represented by CAA Stellar, an agency with close ties to Tottenham, with the likes of Ben Davies and Joe Rodon on their books, as well as former Tottenham star Gareth Bale.
Maignan is a player Spurs have watched for a long time, since he came through the academy at PSG and moved to Lille. Now 27 and at AC Milan, Maignan was namechecked by Lloris as the man to take over as France's No.1 and there would be a certain symmetry if he were to do the same at Tottenham.
Martinez, Oblak and Henderson have long been linked with Spurs, while Leeds' 22-year-old goalkeeper Illan Meslier has also been namechecked by the media in recent seasons, while some in the Turkish media have mooted Fenerbahce goalkeeper Altay Bayindir as a potential free transfer signing this summer for the north London club. The 24-year-old is his club's captain with five caps to his name for Turkey.
The Italian media have also linked Alex Meret with a move to Tottenham. The 25-year-old Italy international is currently on course to win Serie A with Napoli. Any potential move for the Italian in particular could be tied up in whether two of his compatriots will still be in north London by the time this summer rolls around.
That's because the other issue for Tottenham in their search for a new long-term first choice goalkeeper this summer is the uncertainty around those with the casting vote at the club.
Antonio Conte's future remains unclear beyond this summer and if he does depart then the next head coach will have a big say in what is a key position within any team.
There is also Paratici's future to be taken into account with Spurs bracing themselves for the possibility of his 30-month ban from the Italian football federation, after investigations into the issues at Juventus, to be extended worldwide by UEFA and FIFA. Such a decision, as well as further investigations in the Serie A club taking place at UEFA's instigation, would make it difficult for Tottenham's transfer chief to continue in his role at the north London outfit.
Whoever ends up making the decision, Tottenham must decide upon the right man to succeed Hugo Lloris in the long-term, whether it be from next summer or after a transitional season. The Frenchman has had his critics over the seasons but in truth Spurs struck lucky with a goalkeeper who came with a sell-on clause that was never really required.
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