After 11 years of outstanding service in North London it was time for Hugo Lloris to go.
In recent seasons too many mistakes had crept into the French goalkeeper’s game while injuries were also taking a toll.
Last April, the World Cup winner with 145 caps for his country was subbed off at half-time as Tottenham were decimated up in Newcastle.
After marvelling at his abilities throughout the Pochettino years and beyond – years that saw the club feature heavily in the Premier League winner betting odds - the Spurs faithful of course knew conclusively what they had in nets. A giant no less. One of the world’s finest. But even giants have their day.
One thing was for sure though. Whoever came next had some awfully big boots to fill.
Before we get to his replacement Vicario, there was Ange Postecoglou.
If Tottenham fans were united in their admiration of Lloris, they were divided on their new Australian coach.
He was a winner for sure, but in the A-League, J-League and Scottish Premiership. Could he cut it in the infinitely more demanding Premier League?
With no pre-season friendlies to gauge an early assessment of him on, attention turned to his transfer business.
In came Dejan Kulusevski, a no-brainer after the Swede excelled on loan the season before. And then, on June 27th, for just £17m, Spurs signed Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli.
Who? Well, precisely. So under-stated was the response to the move that some believed the 27-year-old was being bought as a back-up, to whichever elite stopper they were lining up.
YouTube clips proved to be no use, because every goalkeeper, good or mediocre, has an impressive showreel of spectacular saves.
His C.V. however was more damning, highlighting a succession of loan spells in Serie B and a couple of seasons in the lower reaches of Serie A.
At no point, over nine years as a professional, had Vicario come close to being handed international recognition, not at any level.
The Spurs faithful therefore patiently waited for their elite number one to join, not realising he was right before their eyes, a steal of the season.
Vicario has only been with the Lilywhites for a matter of months but already he has secured hero status, his pro-active style of goalkeeping catching the eye, with impressive agility and razor reflexes to back it up.
From August to December, the Italian has consecutively been nominated for the Premier League Save of the Month merit, as he tips around the post and flings himself into harm’s way, a reliable one-man citadel behind Postecoglou’s attacking ten.
Ironically, his greatest display from a high volume of them, came in a defeat, when Spurs were reduced to nine men at home to Chelsea and Vicario pulled off an acrobatic masterclass. He so nearly made a miracle occur that evening.
That loss ended an opening ten-game unbeaten streak that had Spurs well fancied in the Premier League betting, a burst from the blocks that loudened conversations about them being title contenders.
Even if James Maddison got the headlines, no player played a bigger part in that than Vicario.
When recently asked who has stood out for him the most between the sticks this season, former shot-stopper Ben Foster opted for the former Empoli star over the likes of Ederson and Alisson, and the words he used were pertinent. He was ‘incredible’, ‘phenomenal’.
Let’s add legend into the mix, or at least he is in the making.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
