The youth movement at Tottenham Hotspur should continue through the summer of 2017 by making Pau Lopez the backup goalkeeper.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino deserves plenty of credit for going all-in on a youth movement that has generated the best Spurs side many supporters have ever seen. Players such as Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli have become world-class talents reportedly coveted by some of the giants of club football. Kyle Walker improved to the point that he may soon make a £60-million move to a club such as Manchester City or maybe even Barcelona.
Pochettino has routinely been keen on featuring younger talents and providing opportunities to those looking to break into the side, and there’s little reason to believe that’s going to change anytime soon. Knowing that, it would seem likely the Spurs boss would want to retain goalkeeper Pau Lopez on a permanent basis with the idea that the club should begin preparing for life without first-choice ‘keeper Hugo Lloris.
According to Tom Collomosse of Standard Sport, Espanyol have informed Spurs they have until June 30 to acquire Lopez, who spent last season with Tottenham on loan, on a permanent basis, and also that a £6.2 million price tag has been placed on the 22-year-old. Assuming reports that Pochettino rates Lopez are accurate, that type of money is a drop in the bucket considering the value Tottenham could receive from the player in the future.
It should be pointed out that nobody, not even Pochettino, knows, for sure, what Lopez can be as a Premier League player. Lopez spent more time as a spectator than on the pitch last season, and that would again be the case throughout the 2017-18 campaign.
Lloris is only 30 years old, relatively young for the position, he is one of the better goalkeepers in the Premier League even though he is guilty of the occasional blunder and his fitness isn’t a concern minus the fact a couple of injuries sidelined him for periods of time last season.
Between Lloris and Lopez in the Tottenham pecking order is Michel Vorm, the veteran who probably won’t again feature for a top-four club once his stint at Spurs ends. Vorm turns 34 years old this fall, and he is out of contract following the 2018 season.
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Theoretically, Spurs could keep things as they were in early May and continue to have Vorm serve as Lloris’ backup just in case disaster strikes as the club attempts to chase the Premier League title and find more success in the Champions League.
Pochettino hasn’t shied from taking risks in multiple aspects of the gig, though, and the majority of his decisions have benefitted Spurs over the past couple of seasons. Perhaps Pochettino could convince chairman Daniel Levy that Lopez is ready to take on additional responsibilities and that Spurs should obtain some value, albeit minimal, by selling Vorm to a club that would play him more during the twilight of his career.
There is, of course, no rush to make that kind of decision even if Tottenham exercise the option to buy Lopez before the end of the month. In such an event, Lloris, Vorm and Lopez will all be signed up through the conclusion of the upcoming campaign, and there is currently no indication Vorm has any problem sitting behind Lloris or even behind Lopez if Pochettino wanted to offer the younger player starts in cup contests and even the occasional league match.
If nothing else, giving Lopez a handful of looks between the start of summer friendlies and next May could help Pochettino and Spurs know what they have in store for a future without Lloris. While Lloris is the captain who should remain in his prime for several seasons, there is always the threat a top-tier club, one capable of winning the Champions League, could pursue his services. Every player and club has a price, and the harsh reality some may wish to ignore is that there will eventually come a time when it makes sense for Spurs to move on from their current No. 1.
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On paper, Lopez is everything Pochettino would want as part of his squad. The young potential star has experience playing against tough competition, he’s already been called up for national team duties and he seems to have the type of rough edge Pochettino covets as explained by Dermot Corrigan of ESPN. Keeping him at such a reasonable price should be a no-brainer.