Guglielmo Vicario’s impending return from a hernia operation has presented Tottenham Hotspur’s new head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, with an awkward dilemma.
Vicario has been their first-choice goalkeeper since he arrived in north London from Italian side Empoli in June 2023 for £17.2million ($23.3m). The 29-year-old is capable of producing fantastic saves, but he has underperformed this season.
Many thought Antonin Kinsky might never play for Spurs again following a calamitous display in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Atletico Madrid, when he was substituted after conceding three goals in the opening 15 minutes, but Vicario’s injury presented him with an unlikely second chance. Spurs lost 1-0 to Sunderland last weekend in De Zerbi’s first game and Kinsky did not look overwhelmed.
The 23-year-old’s calmness in possession and expansive passing range make him a more natural fit for De Zerbi’s intricate style of play.
Spurs host De Zerbi’s former employers, Brighton & Hove Albion, on Saturday. There is a huge amount of pressure to win and escape the relegation zone. De Zerbi has to decide whether Vicario’s experience is more important than Kinsky’s quality on the ball.
Here, our Tottenham writers Elias Burke and Jay Harris make the cases for who the Italian should trust for this crucial fixture and the rest of the season.
Kinsky suits De Zerbi’s style
There was a moment early on in last weekend’s defeat against Sunderland when Granit Xhaka, who was initially in the box for a corner, ran over to take delivery duty so he could test Kinsky’s resolve with an in-swinging cross.
Kinsky dealt with the viciously curling ball, tipping it over the bar just as it threatened to creep in at the far post.
It served as his ‘I’m good’ moment, or the first symbolic scene in his redemption arc, and he was imperious for the rest of the game. Even if his mistakes in Madrid linger in the minds of opposition players — who will continue putting him under pressure to challenge his fortitude — and the collective football consciousness, his performance away at Sunderland suggested Kinsky, in the mould of a top goalkeeper, has the self-confidence to put those errors behind him.
One swallow does not make a summer. Kinsky will need many more assured performances like the one at the Stadium of Light to convince the fans, and possibly his team-mates, that he can be relied upon. That would not be unreasonable, considering there’s a fair argument that he was at fault for four of the last six goals he has conceded.
But against Brighton, the club where De Zerbi opted to prioritise distribution over top-level experience in dropping Robert Sanchez for Jason Steele, Kinsky should keep his place.
With Cristian Romero set to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, Kinsky’s incisive passing from defence is even more important. By almost every metric, Tottenham’s injured captain has been the club’s best passer this season. He has the vision to find players in space in the middle of the pitch, and the technical quality to execute those balls through the lines.
Even with Romero in the side, Spurs have been one of the league’s worst teams in possession this term, and that will only worsen without the Argentinian. Evidenced last Sunday, where his willingness and capacity to chip passes over opposition lines and fire them to team-mates under pressure, Kinsky can help bridge that gap.
His pass out wide, leading to a good Dominic Solanke chance shortly before half-time, was one Vicario may not have the capacity to make. While we’re unlikely to see many of the subtle tweaks De Zerbi would want to implement this season due to a lack of time on the training pitch and Tottenham’s perilous situation, the larger idea of placing faith in every player’s ability to be confident and assured in possession suits Kinsky much more than Vicario.
He performed solidly with his hands, too, including a smart close-range stop from Brian Brobbey in the first half, and bears no responsibility for Nordi Mukiele’s deflected winner.
Undoubtedly, snubbing the tried-and-tested No 1 for such a crucial match would be risky and bold, but Vicario has performed poorly for months.
Regardless, if ever there was a coach to be risky and bold in a moment like this, it’s De Zerbi.
Elias Burke
Go with Vicario, the leader
Kinsky’s admirers have never moved on from his promising debut in the first leg of last season’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool. The Czech Republic Under-21 international exuded confidence and produced a couple of superb saves to keep a clean sheet. But since then, he has made 13 further appearances and only four of them have come during this campaign.
Everybody focuses on what happened against Atletico Madrid but Kinsky did not cover himself in glory in October’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup, either. The goalkeeper’s poor positioning and weakness at claiming crosses were exposed by Nick Woltemade’s second-half header. It is not Kinsky’s fault that his development has been mismanaged — he clearly would have benefited from a loan — but throwing him in at the deep end now would not solve his or Tottenham’s issues.
Vicario’s performances have been erratic, and he can be overly emotional, but he has made lots of world-class saves. These moments are forgotten because Spurs concede so many chances and he is powerless to stop every single shot.
The Italy international’s stunning fingertip save to deny Cody Gakpo helped Spurs win a point at Liverpool last month that could be vital to their chances of survival. He somehow clawed away Rayan Cherki’s fierce drive in February’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City. In the second leg against Atletico, Vicario showed remarkable reaction skills to push Giuliano Simeone’s volley, which took a deflection off Romero, over the bar.
He almost single-handedly repelled Monaco in October as Spurs earned an important away point, which helped them finish in the top eight and avoid the competition’s play-off round. Maybe the biggest criticism you could level at Vicario is that he has saved his best performances for Europe — an accusation that could be levelled at most of the squad — when Spurs desperately need him to keep a few more clean sheets in the Premier League.
There have been some questionable moments from Vicario, including his meek attempt to push away Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick for Liverpool, but his underlying hernia issue provides some mitigation.
Kinsky is probably the better fit long-term, but De Zerbi told the club’s website last week that “it’s not the right moment to speak about my philosophy”, reducing the need for a ball-playing goalkeeper.
“We have no time to work too much on more principles, but we have to know what we have to do on the pitch,” De Zerbi added. “We have to have a good organisation on the pitch with the ball, without the ball.”
Spurs need a goalkeeper prepared to put everything on the line and hold their team-mates to account. Vicario, who is a member of the dressing room’s senior leadership group, ticks more boxes than Kinsky.
Jay Harris