TOTTENHAM are hoping to complete the signing of Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario – and keep him out of the clutches of Inter Milan.
Vicario, 26, is close to a £16.3milion switch from Serie A side Empoli to North London.
It is widely believed in his homeland that Inter were lining up a move for the stopper should Chelsea target Andre Onana leave this summer – so Spurs have moved quickly.
Tottenham have been after a new stopper with long-serving captain Hugo Lloris wanting to leave this summer.
They had targeted Brentford’s David Raya but with the Bees’ asking price of £40million proving prohibitive, they have now turned to Vicario.
Reports coming out of Italy have suggested Vicario has already agreed a five-year deal with the North Londoners.
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Vicario has had two stellar seasons helping Empoli retain their Serie A status.
New Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou wants a goalkeeper who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and Vicario is understood to have worked on that area considerably of late.
The stopper has earned plenty of admirers at home and abroad for his displays – including from Champions League finalists Inter.
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Vicario was born in Udine in North-East Italy and began his career with hometown club Udinese.
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His route to the Premier League has been far from easy, having to work his way up the Italian lower leagues with the likes of Fontanafredda, Venezia and Perugia.
He finally reached Italy’s top flight with a move to Cagliari in 2020, but it was only when he joined Empoli on loan a year later that he became a Serie A regular, before turning the move permanent last summer.
Vicario is yet to earn a senior cap for Italy but was on the bench for the Azzurri for the Nations League finals this month.
Spurs’ former managing director of football Fabio Paratici, who resigned in April, was understood to be a big fan of Vicario.
Fans will be hoping Vicario proves far more of a success than the last Italian stopper recommended by Paratici in Pierluigi Gollini, who failed to make an impact when joining on loan from Atalanta the season before last.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
