Tottenham have been scouring the market to find the goalkeeper they believe can eventually prove to be the long-term successor to Hugo Lloris.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
