Who is Guglielmo Vicario? The perfect Lloris replacement for Postecoglou's Tottenham

 

 

 

Tottenham were in an intriguing position they hadn't found themselves in since 2012 - they needed to spend money to sign a new goalkeeper. Hugo Lloris has held the number one spot in north London for the last 13 years, but as age and injuries caught up on the Frenchman, Spurs had to look to the future, and one without the 2018 World Cup winner. 

 

Spurs were always going to buy a new goalkeeper this summer once it became clear that Lloris would likely leave to seek a new challenge. The 36-year-old, like Spurs, endured a season to forget as he committed more errors leading to an opposition goal (4) than any other player in the Premier League last season. David Raya was initially the number one target to succeed Lloris, but Brentford's stance on the Spain international saw the club look elsewhere in their quest to sign a new shotstopper. 

 

Brighton's Robert Sanchez was a target, so too was Valencia youngster Giorgi Mamardashvili, but Spurs have settled on Empoli's Guglielmo Vicario, confirming his signing on Tuesday evening. While not the first name on wishlists, Vicario was a solid performer for the Italian side last season. Empoli beat the drop by 12 points in part due to the 26-year-old's showings between the sticks. 

 

Vicario conceded 1.26 goals per game last season, a return that increased to 1.43 when he didn't feature. Empoli also shipped the most shots per game (16.1) in Italy's top tier last term, and the third most in Europe's top five leagues. Vicario, though, dealt with the opposition threat well having finished the season eighth for total saves (96) and with a respectable save success rate of 70.8%, a metric topped by Lazio's Ivan Provdel (77.2%). 

 

His performances saw him linked with moves to Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter, to name three, and the latter's interest in Vicario saw Spurs step up their efforts to sign the Italian for fear Simone Inzaghi's side would view the Empoli man as a replacement for Manchester United target Andre Onana. Given Empoli's style of play last season - they averaged the seventh lowest possession return (47.1%) in Serie A - Vicario remained relatively close to his goalline, but he isn't afraid to spring forward when needed, a weakness of Lloris'. 

 

So too is the Frenchman's distribution. Lloris has made a career of being an outstanding shotstopper, but has never been quite comfortable with the ball at his feet, and in the modern game, a goalkeeper who is prepared to act as an 11th outfielder is imperative. As such, fans watched on as Lloris averaged just 4.4 accurate long balls per 90 for Spurs last season, a poor return for a team that was expected to see more of the ball, and this resulted in needless turnovers in possession, thus inviting opposition pressure. 

 

By comparison, Vicario averaged a more respectable 5.9 accurate long balls per 90, and while his long ball success rate (34.9%) was lower than Lloris' (40.7%), this can be attributed to the Empoli defence placing greater faith in the goalkeeper to initiate attacks from the defence, noted in that 16.9 attempted long balls per game was the eighth most in Serie A.

What'll really catch the eye though is Vicario's standing. The Italian is at least two inches taller than Lloris, whom many feel was on the shorter side for a goalkeeper. Vicario though made his stature count as no goalkeeper make more high ball claims (32) than Spurs' new number one in Serie A last season. By comparison, Lloris made just 17 and the lack of command of the area meant Spurs were under pressure more frequently, resulting in the north London side shipping 63 goals, the sixth most in the Premier League. 

 


 

 

The aggression in coming off his line will allow for Spurs to quickly instigate rapid counter attacks, and importantly; ease the pressure on the backline to repel danger. Fans would often hear Lloris shout 'Away!' when a corner or free-kick came into the Spurs box, with the Frenchman routinely opting to remain glued to his line than trust himself to mop up the danger. They'll witness a different approach with Vicario in goal now. 

 

Crucially is that Vicario's willingness to leave the relative comforts of the penalty area will appeal to Ange Postecoglou. The Australian wants his goalkeeper to step forward into defence, as was evident with Joe Hart at Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last season, and Vicario is prepared to risk moving upfield in order to aid his side's dominance when in possession. Yes, this increases the chances of Spurs being caught out by opponents when Vicario is on the ball, but then the same could be said of previous target Raya. With these types of goalkeepers, the higher the risk; the greater the reward. 

 

That isn't to say that Vicario is the finished article, and there are areas to his game that need developing, but these will come with time and coaching. He is still relatively young for a goalkeeper after all, yet is one that seems a good fit for Postecoglou's Spurs side.

Who is Guglielmo Vicario? The perfect Lloris replacement for Postecoglou's Tottenham