Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly not interested in signing on-loan goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini permanently this summer.
According to Football Insider, Tottenham are unlikely to exercise the option-to-buy to make on-loan goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini’s stay permanent. Spurs manager Antonio Conte is unimpressed by the Italian shot-stopper and does not want to sign him on a full-time basis this summer.
Formerly of Aston Villa and Hellas Verona, Gollini joined Tottenham on a season-long loan from Atalanta last summer. The north Londoners are said to have an option to buy the goalkeeper for around £13 million. He was brought in to provide competition for current No. 1 Hugo Lloris and eventually replace the Frenchman between the sticks for the Lilywhites.
However, the 27-year-old’s game-time has been limited under both Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte. He has struggled to make the desired impact in north London and is firmly behind club captain Lloris in the pecking order, having yet to make a Premier League appearance this term.
As per the report, it is understood that Tottenham will have an obligation to buy the Atalanta loanee should he make 20 senior appearances for the club this season. However, that target now seems very unlikely given Gollini has seen all of his ten appearances come exclusively in cup competitions.
And Tottenham are now eliminated out of all those competitions, while Lloris is still holding the fort in the Premier League owing to his strong form, having started all 29 of Spurs’ top-flight matches this term.
Moreover, Tottenham decided to hand Lloris a new two-and-a-half-year contract, extending the 2018 World Cup winner’s stay until 2024. They have already started scouting for a solid backup, with Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont one of the names on their shortlist, which effectively means the end of Gollini’s short stint at the north London club.
Gollini was a mainstay at Atalanta after signing from Aston Villa back in 2017, helping Gian Piero Gasperini’s side to become Champions League regulars with back-to-back third-placed Serie A finishes in his last two seasons. But they opted to sign Juan Musso from Udinese as their new first-choice goalkeeper, and it left the Italian international on the bench.
The 27-year-old’s contract with La Dea is set to expire in 2023, and the Italian outfit are looking to sell him to generate funds. Lazio are keeping close tabs on his situation, with former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri demanding a new No. 1 after being unconvinced by his current options Thomas Strakosha and Pepe Reina, both of whom are out of contract at the end of the season.
Whether Gollini’s potential transfer to the Rome-based outfit comes to fruition this summer remains to be seen. But as things stand, it seems improbable that Tottenham will use their option to buy the Italian, with the player almost certainly returning to Bergamo at the end of the season.
