Tottenham Hotspur could be set to bid farewell to a club hero…
What’s the latest?
That’s according to Nizaar Kinsella, writing for The Telegraph, who notes the various targets that could replace Hugo Lloris.
The most notorious of those mentioned is Atletico Madrid shot-stopper Jan Oblak, who is seen as a potential successor to the Frenchman.
Although he will demand a larger fee than other options, the €30m (£27m) valuation reported still represents a modest sum for a player of his quality.
An ideal Lloris successor
Spurs have endured a barren January transfer window thus far, with Antonio Conte not getting his requested funds to bolster his squad.
As 2022 came to a close, the Italian manager admitted that this was a process that would take time and patience before it began to pay dividends.
He first claimed:
“A winning team, you can’t build in one year. Two years; you have to change mentality, you have to change also many situations, many aspects to become a winner”.
The 53-year-old would continue:
“We will try to do something, but we have to follow the club’s vision. Tottenham want to invest on young players, as we did with Kulusevski and Bentancur. Talents but with accessible salaries. This is what we’ll try to do.”
Clearly, they have not found any targets that align with this vision, as they are yet to make a single addition with a third of the window done.
Despite this, they may have been called into action due to the recent poor performances of Lloris.
The club captain and “legend” – as once dubbed by Lee McQueen – has been a capable stalwart for many years in north London, but has admittedly seen his powers wane of late.
This was showcased through his huge blunder against rivals Arsenal, which led Sami Mokbel to reveal that the Lilywhites were in fact preparing for life after the £100k-per-week 36-year-old. That mistake only served to compound his poor performances of late, where he has not achieved a Sofascore rating of above 6.6 in his last five matches.
Oblak would mark a sensational upgrade, with the Slovenia international having been one of the world’s best goalkeepers for many years now.
He has been at the heart of many successful sides whilst in the Spanish capital, with his most impressive personal campaign being in the 2020/21 season.
During this, he would average a 7.17 rating whilst keeping 18 clean sheets in La Liga. Across this year, the 30-year-old made an immense 80% of his saves, with zero errors that led to a goal and zero penalties committed, as per via Sofascore.
There are few in the world who are as dependable in between the sticks as Oblak is, and as such would be a refreshing change-up from the mistake-prone Frenchman. There is a reason he was outlined as a “world-class keeper” by The Athletic journalist James Pearce.
He represents the natural successor to such an impressive cult hero for Spurs and would be an instant upgrade that allows Lloris to leave before his dignity and legacy is completely stripped from him.
