Guglielmo Vicario’s hot and cold spell at Tottenham Hotspur is likely to draw to a sad climax this summer.
The Italian goalkeeper has had his moments in North London, but he hasn’t managed to perform consistently over the course of nearly three full seasons, which has emerged as a cause for concern.
While his reflexes are up there with the very best, his ball-playing and ability to command the penalty area during set-pieces haven’t instilled the backline with much confidence.
Tottenham are open to selling Vicario in the summer, with Juventus and Inter Milan among the clubs interested.
And now, former Spurs scout Mick Brown has named the club’s ‘top target’ to replace the mercurial Italian in the summer.
Tottenham want to sign James Trafford
After a fantastic spell with Burnley and England’s youth squad, James Trafford earned himself a move to Manchester City last summer.
He was seen as the heir to Ederson’s throne, who left the club after a successful eight-year spell at the Etihad Stadium.
However, things quickly went downhill for Trafford as City capitalised on Gianluigi Donnarumma’s contract at Paris Saint-Germain to sign him late in the window.
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Since then, he has been relegated to cup games, which is not what he signed up for.
And now, in an interview with Football Insider, Brown feels Trafford is the man Tottenham could turn to in the summer.
He said: “One who I think is going to be high up on their list is James Trafford, the Man City goalkeeper, because it looks like he might be available.
“He’s not happy at Man City and he’s made that pretty clear; he doesn’t want to be a number two, so a move to Tottenham could be a good opportunity.
“Trafford is still very highly rated. Whenever you hear people speaking about him, they always have good things to say, and he showed what he can do at Burnley.”
Brown also made it clear that Manchester City hold all the cards when it comes to Trafford’s future, adding that they could be reluctant to let him go after just one season at the club.
“He’s an England international and he’s still only young as well, so it’s more of a long-term investment,” continued Brown.
“It might depend on his future at Man City. If they are willing to let him go, then he’s going to be a top target for Tottenham, but it’s still in their hands.”
Tottenham have long goalkeeper shortlist
Aside from Trafford, Tottenham have a four-man shortlist to replace Vicario in the summer.
Sunderland’s Robin Roefs, Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen, Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu and Lens stopper Robin Risser are all admired by the club’s hierarchy as they work diligently behind the scenes to identify a new goalkeeper.
Brighton want nearly £50m for Verbruggen, making him the most expensive candidate on their shortlist by quite some distance.
If Tottenham decide to turn to an in-house candidate, Antonin Kinsky could be given a run-out in pre-season, having fared quite well in the limited game time he has received so far.
