Tottenham have kickstarted the Ange Postecoglou era with a first new arrival of the summer in north London.
Spurs have spent £17million to sign Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Serie A side Empoli, with his arrival officially confirmed on Tuesday evening.
The 26-year-old has signed a five-year contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium through 2028 after developing a strong reputation in his homeland, having also represented the likes of Udinese, Cagliari and Perugia and earned a senior call-up to the Italian national squad under Roberto Mancini.
Vicario has been handed the No13 shirt at Spurs most recently worn by former ‘keeper Michel Vorm and his arrival only increases the doubts over Hugo Lloris’ future in north London.
The long-serving captain has entered the final 12 months of his current Tottenham contract and earlier this month went public with his desire to move on and try a fresh challenge after 11 years in the Premier League as he spoke about “the end of an era”.
Lloris missed the end of last season with a thigh injury and was replaced by deputy Fraser Forster, who remains under contract at Spurs for another year after penning a two-year deal upon his arrival as a free agent last summer.
Tottenham also have the likes of academy graduates Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman in their current first-team goalkeeping ranks, with the latter having penned a new two-year contract back in February.
Vicario is the second goalkeeper Spurs have signed from Italy in recent years, with Pierluigi Gollini spending a season on loan in England during the 2021/22 campaign before returning to Serie A with Atalanta and later representing Fiorentina and Napoli.
Vicario is technically the second signing of the Postecoglou era at Tottenham, with the club having also signed Swedish forward Dejan Kulusevski on a permanent deal earlier this month following his 18-month loan from Juventus.
