Daniel Levy has already saved £28m for Ange Postecoglou’s next Spurs transfer
Tottenham have begun to bolster their squad ahead of the new season, with the permanent acquisition of Dejan Kulusevski and the impending arrival of Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham believe to have found a long-term replacement for Hugo Lloris with the impending arrival of Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli. With the World Cup champion signaling his intention to move on for a fresh challenge abroad, it had provided the Lilywhites with a difficult job in trying to identify the appropriate individual to replace Lloris after 11 years of superb service.
Although it appeared that David Raya would transfer from Brentford to Tottenham, the Bees’ £40 million asking price for the Spaniard prompted Spurs to pursue a deal for Vicario.The 26-year-old is expected to join Spurs for €19 million (£16.3 million).
Tottenham have beaten a number of teams to the highly regarded shot-stopper, with Juventus, Napoli, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Manchester United all connected in the past.Ange Postecoglou’s team appear to be getting a goalkeeper who is “doing things out of the ordinary,” according to Italy veteran Gianluigi Buffon.
His form with Empoli over the last two years would surely suggest that. Vicario is regarded as one of the top goalkeepers in Serie A and has been called up to the Italian national team on several occasions, but he is still waiting for his first cap.
While many fans will be disappointed that Tottenham did not match Brentford’s asking price for Raya, their high asking price may deter others, given the goalkeeper will be available on a free transfer next summer. It’s something that could come back to bother them in a year if the ex-Blackburn Rovers man stays in west London for the season and then leaves for nothing.
Tottenham’s decision to sign Vicario rather than Raya will save them £23.7 million, which they may now put towards additional summer moves to bolster Postecoglou’s team. With a deal for Vicario seems imminent, the Italian will be the club’s second addition ahead of the 2023/24 season, following the permanent signing of Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus last Saturday.
Spurs have saved money by agreeing on a lesser fee for the Swede, who has impressed on his 18-month loan deal from the Bianconeri. The initial agreement with Juventus as part of the loan deal was that Tottenham had the option to purchase Kulusevski for €35 million (£29.9 million) 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.
Tottenham’s negotiations with Juventus resulted in another £4.3 million off the price tag and an additional year to pay off the debt. Tottenham have already saved £28 million by renegotiating for the attacker and choosing Vicario over Raya.
With Tottenham having a lot of areas to reinforce for Postecoglou, Spurs can now apply the £28 million saved towards other moves ahead of the new season. The funds may be used to bring in a top-class center-back to elevate Tottenham’s backline to the next level, or they could be used to bring in James Maddison from Leicester City as Tottenham looks 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.
