Despite an offer from his former club Nice on transfer deadline day, Hugo Lloris remains a Tottenham Hotspur player. Now, the Frenchman has explained exactly why he did not take up the opportunity to return to his home country.
Hugo Lloris is now into his twelfth year with Tottenham, but many suspected the 36-year-old would leave the club this summer.
A poor showing from the experienced keeper during the 2022/23 campaign ended in a whimper, as Lloris was injured for the final six games and replaced by Fraser Forster. It seemed Lloris would never wear a Spurs shirt again.
Lloris’ fate appeared to be settled when Guglielmo Vicario arrived at the club and took over as first-choice goalkeeper. Later, Lloris was stripped of his captaincy, with Heung-min Son becoming the new skipper at Spurs.
The veteran keeper was subsequently linked with moves to Lazio (L’Equipe) and Newcastle United (The Times), but it is thought he turned down these transfers as he didn’t want to be a back-up goalkeeper.
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Why did Lloris turn down Nice on deadline day?
Just before the transfer window shut, Lloris had another offer on the table, with Nice making a late approach. Now, the player himself has told Nice-Matin why he opted against rejoining the club where he began his career.
He said: “I want to clear up the ambiguity surrounding the events of the past hours. [On Friday], an hour before the end of the window, I received a call from an agent, who brought up the possibility of joining OGC Nice.
“Playing prospects and the sporting project, the real drivers behind a player’s decision, much more so than financial conditions, weren’t clearly broached.
“My professional journey has shown how much that exchange, of sharing and collective growth, has always forged my decisions, even more so when it’s about coming back to the club that trained me.
“The supporters and the team deserve better than a split-second decision based on a phone call without expectations or a clear sporting project with one hour until the closure of the window at a time where I wasn’t expecting it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Fair play, this does sound like a valid reason not to accept the offer, but I just don’t know what Lloris is expecting to do now. He is not going to play for Spurs this season, and if he doesn’t sort something out soon, he will end up wasting one of the final years of his career.
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