Last minute’: Sky reporter says Juventus were eyeing last-ditch move for £17m Spurs player this summer
Journalist Michael Bridge has suggested that he had been told that Juventus were preparing a last-ditch move to sign Guglielmo Vicario before he completed his switch to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
Bridge was speaking on the Last Word On Spurs podcast as he also shared what some of the Italian journalists were telling him about the goalkeeper ahead of his move to North London.
While Tottenham fans knew that a new number one was needed before the window, few would have spoken about Guglielmo Vicario as a potential replacement for Hugo Lloris.
The 26-year-old is not a household name outside of Italy. In fact, he had only enjoyed two full years as a number one in Serie A before his move to Tottenham.
Juventus wanted Vicario just before his Tottenham move
But Spurs fans are optimistic that their club has made an inspired move. Vicario looks to be absolutely perfect for the way Ange Postecoglou wants his side to play. He has also made a handful of world-class saves when Tottenham have really needed him to bail them out.
Bridge was asked about how Tottenham went about finding Lloris’ successor over the summer. And he suggested that there was late interest from the Old Lady in the Italian before his move to the Premier League.
“The information we got originally was from our colleague in Italy, Gianluca Di Marzio. I then spoke to another couple of colleagues in Italy. I said look, I don’t know everyone, can you tell us about this guy, I don’t really know much about this goalkeeper. They said you are getting our best prospect, best goalkeeper. Buffon goes on about him,” he told Last Word On Spurs.
“But they are all just really huge fans. And one journalist said to me that Inter Milan and Juve were going to go in for him last minute. That’s why maybe Spurs had just decided to just do it.”
A steal for Spurs
Certainly, there are not too many deals which look better value for money across the Premier League than Tottenham signing Vicario.
Spurs spent £17.2 million to bring him in. And given some of the fees which have been spent this summer, that is looking like a real bargain.
Of course, it is still early in Vicario’s Premier League career. And given the way Tottenham play, there are probably going to be times when they come under pressure.
But the early signs suggest that Vicario could well live up to the expectations a lot of Italian journalists clearly had in the summer.
