Tottenham Hotspur have accepted an offer from Juventus for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Juve’s offer for the 29-year-old is for a loan with the option to make the move to Serie A permanent and while a deal is not yet done, all parties expect it to go through.
The Athletic reported on Sunday that the Italian club were not proceeding with a move for Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa following talks between the clubs, and turned their attention to other targets.
A move to Juventus would see Vicario return to Italy, where he spent his entire club career before joining Spurs in 2023 from Empoli for a fee of around €20million (£17.2m, $21.9m).
The 29-year-old has served as Tottenham’s first-choice goalkeeper since his arrival, replacing former club captain Hugo Lloris, and has made 117 appearances for the club in all competitions, keeping 29 clean sheets. He started the 1-0 victory in the Europa League final in May last year, making a crucial save from a Luke Shaw header in stoppage time to ensure his side won their first trophy in 17 years.
Last season, Vicario played 43 games for Spurs but struggled with errors at times and did not appear after March 22 following surgery for a hernia. Antonin Kinsky started in Vicario’s absence and held on to the No 1 spot even when Vicario returned to the squad for the final two games of the campaign.
Vicario began his career with his Udinese and made his first senior appearance while on loan at fourth-tier side Fontanafredda in 2014. He was loaned to fellow Serie D club Venezia in 2015, helping the club achieve promotion and signing on a permanent basis the following year.
A move to Cagliari followed in 2019, along with loan spells at Perugia and Empoli, before joined the latter pemanently in 2022.
Vicario has been capped five times at senior level by Italy and was part of the squad for nation’s run to the last 16 at the 2024 European Championships, though he was an unused substitute in all four games.
How will Vicario be remembered at Spurs?
Analysis by Tottenham correspondent Elias Burke
When Guglielmo Vicario was not brought back into Roberto De Zerbi’s starting line-up after recovering from hernia surgery, with the Tottenham head coach preferring Antonin Kinsky for the run-in, the writing seemed on the wall that Vicario would depart this summer. And when De Zerbi officially named Kinsky as his No 1 goalkeeper on Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand, a move became inevitable.
If this is to be the end of Vicario’s association with Tottenham, he will be partly remembered for his impressive start to life in north London. He was a standout in Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge, starting all 38 league games as Spurs finished fifth. His sophomore term at Spurs was hampered by an ankle injury, limiting him to just 24 starts, but he is set to leave for Turin as a Europa League champion, keeping a clean sheet in the final and making numerous important saves on their journey to Bilbao.
Last season, however, Vicario’s form dropped off a cliff. There were some standout moments, including inspired displays in the 2-1 away win over Leeds United in October and a performance in the 0-0 away draw at Monaco that will surely go down as one of the best of his career, but they were rare bright sparks in a poor year.
While De Zerbi has expressed affection for his countryman since joining Spurs, Kinsky is a much better fit for his style and excelled in the Italian’s crucial seven-game stint, which kept Spurs in the Premier League. Kinsky is one of the league’s standout goalkeepers with his feet, while Vicario has struggled in that area in north London.
Kinsky, his previous understudy, also appears to have made a significant improvement as a shot-stopper, considered Vicario’s biggest strength. All this means Kinsky is well-positioned to be Tottenham’s long-term answer in goal, provided he continues to improve and build on his positive showings under De Zerbi last season, while Vicario’s future lies elsewhere as a No 1.