Guglielmo Vicario was having a topsy-turvy season until the Man City game. In some games, he looked defiant, in others, he was a bit too wobbly. Critics were calling him out for his temperament issues while also acknowledging him as being a stylistic fit.
There were no disputes regarding his performance against the Cityzens though. While the Spurs attackers scored four on the other end, the Italy international made sure City scored none. Even more incredibly, he did so with a broken toe for over 60 minutes.
That took its toll, however. Vicario underwent surgery after the game is now out for months. This has put Spurs in an even more precarious predicament. Their injury issues in the outfield were bad enough, and now their defensive capabilities are further reduced in the 28-year-old’s absence.
There is no doubt that the Lilywhites will want to get a goalkeeper in during the January transfer window. And it is not just because of his injury; the arguments regarding Vicario’s temperament and mistake tendencies are not completely unfounded. Getting another goalkeeper in just to challenge him a bit more is something Spurs would have had to consider next summer anyway, only now it’s become imperative for them to bring that decision forward.
Here, we look at the two names they have been linked with the most in recent weeks, and we’ve also thrown in a “left-field” pick.
Trafford, a Man City academy graduate, joined Burnley last season, and while he couldn’t help them remain in the Premier League, he did demonstrate his promise and ability as a modern-day goalkeeper in an attack-minded Vincent Kompany side.
This season in the Championship, the 22-year-old has come into his own. With six goals conceded and ten clean sheets from 16 appearances, he’s leading the Clarets from the back as they remain just two points off the top of the table, firmly in contention for direct promotion.
Given he has had a taste of the English topflight, not only do the Premier League mainstay outfits have firsthand experience of seeing him play, Trafford’s own experience in the topflight will make him more likely to move in January than Anthony Patterson, whom we discuss below.
Valued by Transfermarkt at €18 million, Trafford has at Burnley a £25k-per-week contract set to run until June 2027.
When they were relegated from the Premier League in 2017, Sunderland would not have anticipated being away from the topflight for this long, much less suffer another relegation the next season that would set them further back.
Thankfully, they are back on the up now, and this season in the Championship they have established themselves as strong favourites for promotion to the Premier League. They too, like Burnley, lie two points off the top of the Championship table, and a lot of credit for it goes to Anthony Patterson.
The 24-year-old is a Sunderland academy graduate who has been representing their senior side since 2018/19, and he has been through all the downs the Black Cats have suffered since their relegation from the Premier League and is now a key factor in their ups. This season alone, he has mustered seven shut-outs between the sticks from 13 appearances.
Sunderland’s comeback story is set to be one for the ages, regardless of whether they return to the Big Time this season or in the near future. Having started so strongly, it is unlikely Patterson would be inclined to leave mid-season, right before taking his team from third-tier obscurity to the topflight; that the club wouldn’t want him to leave is a given.
The €12m-rated former England U21 international has at Sunderland a £10k-per-week contract set to run until June 2028.
Left-field pick: Keylor Navas
It’s not hard to understand that neither Burnley nor Sunderland will be too keen to let their first-choice goalkeepers leave mid-season amidst a promotion push. It is also not hard to understand why Keylor Navas’ half-season stint at Nottingham Forest felt just as chaotic as the team he was representing.
Currently a free agent, having been released by PSG in May earlier this year, the 37-year-old needs no introduction to the footballing masses. His record speaks for itself, and we have examples of both Wojciech Szczęsny coming out of retirement (Navas is not retired yet) upon the behest of a big club in need of a temporary solution as well as David de Gea doing well at Fiorentina despite having been a year out of the game to make a case for why Navas won’t just be inclined to join Spurs, he could also do a more-than-decent job for them.
Of course, the veteran Costa Rican is not as capable with his feet as his modern counterparts, and Ange Postecoglou is also not one to deter from his ideals, but hey—we called this a “left-field pick” for a reason.
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Even if it was just a case of reinforcing the bench, one has to believe the four-time Champions League winner could make a case for himself ahead of Fraser Forster, and he would certainly back himself to deliver right away if and when called upon.
