Empoli manager fires Guglielmo Vicario warning to Tottenham Hotspur after summer transfer
Empoli manager Paolo Zanetti has claimed that Guglielmo Vicario could use Tottenham Hotspur as a stepping-stone club.
Spurs signed the Italian shot-stopper this summer from Empoli for a fee of £17million. But Zanetti believes he could have been a solution for Inter Milan’s goalkeeping problem.
Well, I Nerazzurri don’t necessarily have a ‘problem’ in that department but they are set to lose Andre Onana to Manchester United if a deal can be agreed this summer. But he is ours to keep.
Vicario signed a five-year deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Transfermarkt). But Zanetti thinks he could leave Spurs in the future for a bigger club. He told Sky Italia, via Football.London:
“Vicario is ready for a big deal, he would have been the perfect goalkeeper for Inter. He is extremely talented and also has immense human qualities. In my opinion, Tottenham will not be a point of arrival for him, but a starting point.”
We shouldn’t worry
We have the 26-year-old for five years, so if he becomes world-class during his spell at Spurs and wants to leave, we can still keep him until 2028 — when he will be 31 years old.
On the face of it, Zanetti’s comments can seem disrespectful. But arguably, apart from Barcelona, Real Madrid and perhaps Bayern Munich, many players have used top teams as a stepping stone club.
Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart left us for Real Madrid. Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard left Chelsea for Los Blancos — the same team Cristiano Ronaldo joined from Manchester United in 2009.
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Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona at the peak of their powers for Barcelona while Erling Haaland could use Manchester City as a stepping stone for Real Madrid. It seems like a situation many clubs can’t avoid. But in Vicario’s case, there is no reason to worry because we have him tied down here for the long term.
