Hugo Lloris has admitted that he has a desire to try new things and leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer if the club will allow it.
The 36-year-old Spurs captain has been at the north London side for 11 years and signed a new two-year last year until the summer of 2024. However, Lloris has struggled with a couple of injuries this season and his form has suffered at points and with football.london having previously reported in December that Tottenham were looking to bring in a long-term replacement for him this coming summer it seems that Lloris acknowledges that his time at the club is coming to a close.
"We are coming to an important moment, whether for the club or for me. It's the end of an era. I have desires for other things," he said in an interview with French media outlet Nice-Matin.
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"I will ask myself quietly to study what will be possible. But I don't forget that I still have a year of contract with Tottenham and that in football it is always difficult to predict what will happen. What is essential at the moment is to recover well from my injury. I'm on vacation but I continue to talk and do my training. My goal is to be on top in July, then we'll see what the future holds for me."
Spurs struggled as a team this season, finishing eighth in the Premier League and going through three head coaches in Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason.
"It's not what we hoped for as a team, we arrived halfway through the season rather well, in the Premier League and the Champions League," said Lloris. "During the second part of the season, we experienced a lot of hard knocks on the collective level but also on the individual level with two injuries.
"We failed as a team by not being able to reverse the course of things. It's disappointing but it's part of the life of a top-level football club. The most important thing is to prepare as well as possible for next season and to learn from our mistakes."
On his own injuries he said: "Both have hurt [timing-wise]. The first was in February during a pivotal period, where everything is at stake. I made the effort to come back and three games later I injured my left thigh tendon, something even more important. This led to my end of the season. I suffered from seeing my team weakened and disrupted from the outside. It hurt me, I was helpless."
Lloris was also asked about his form for Spurs in those months after leading France to another World Cup final.
"You can't go from a successful World Cup to being an average player in a few months. I had a few hard knocks, I was a little inconsistent in my performance, I got injured twice," he said. "I came out of the World Cup pretty dull. The pace had been hellish before that. This is the first time in my career that I am unavailable, but I'm good in my head, in my body.
"This period will bring me freshness to still make me happy in the effort, the performance, the work. The most important thing is to find a project in which I flourish, at Tottenham among others."
Lloris is not looking to retire from football any time soon and he has not ruled out a move to his hometown club Nice.
"After so many years in the France team, it was the right time to stop. I feel lighter but I'm still hungry. I have more time for me, mine. I approach the rest with energy, enthusiasm and the desire to hurt myself," he said.
"Nice is my city, my club, my roots. There is a season that must end, as best as possible, with the goalkeepers in place. I am not demanding, I have never forced things. We'll see where fate takes me. I am delighted to be invited to the Allianz Riviera against Lyon. I will see former coaches, former partners. I really want to enjoy this moment."
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