Journalist Paul Brown has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur made a mistake by choosing to pursue Guglielmo Vicario rather than Brentford’s David Raya.
At the start of the window, all indications were that Raya was Tottenham’s number one target to take over the gloves from Hugo Lloris but the Lilywhites reportedly decided to move on to other alternatives since the Bees were not willing to lower their £40m asking price (90 min).
(Photo by Aitor Alcalde – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Spurs subsequently agreed on a deal worth €19m (£16.4m) with Empoli for Vicario (Guardian), who has emerged as one of the best goalkeepers in the Serie A over the last couple of years.
According to some reports, many in Italy believe that the 26-year-old is capable of becoming one of the best in the world while Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou is delighted with his acquisition (London World).
Vicario revealed after joining the north Londoners that Postecoglou had explained his reasons for bringing him to the club.
He told the Tottenham’s official website: “I spoke with him, and he told me the keeper is so important with his attacking mentality. He wants to dominate the game. I love this mentality. It will be a big chance for me.
“I think we need to fight a lot. We have to take the best for the club.
‘I don’t want to make specific goals, because we have to focus day by day. If we work a lot, follow the coach, I think we can reach a lot of goals. We are a big team of big players. For me, the team is amazing.”
Spurs should have stuck with a move for David Raya
However, Brown believes that Raya was clearly the best option on the market and that Levy simply went for a cheaper alternative.
When asked about Vicario’s impending arrival at Spurs, the journalist told GiveMeSport: “Nothing surprises me about Daniel Levy and Tottenham. Clearly, he wasn’t willing to pay a big fee for Raya.
“I don’t think Tottenham have a whole lot of money to spend this summer and didn’t want to pump a load of their budget into a new goalkeeper.
“So from that point of view, I suppose you can understand it. But I do think he was clearly the best option on the market.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Whatever one thinks of Vicario, Raya was ridiculously overpriced at £40m, given that he only had a year left to run on his contract with Brentford.
Spurs clearly decided not to waste time as Postecoglou might have wanted a goalkeeper to come in before the start of pre-season. There was also the risk of Inter Milan potentially making a move for Vicario if Andre Onana left.
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