Tottenham Hotspur signed Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli at the start of the season.
The 27-year-old goalkeeper has been a quality signing for the Premier League club so far and his performances have been outstanding.
The north London giants paid a fee of around €18.5 million for the Italian international and Empoli president Fabrizio Corsi has now revealed that Manchester United played a big role in his move to Tottenham.
“We are sad not to see Vicario in an Italian team challenging for the Scudetto,” Corsi told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli (h/t Football Italia).
“I think Inter must be kicking themselves, but they had the problem of having to sell Onana first and Tottenham got in there quickly.”
Italian giants Inter Milan were hoping to sign the 27-year-old goalkeeper at the start of the season as a replacement for Andre Onana. However, they had to wait until his departure before they could make a move for Vicario. Manchester United’s delay in securing an agreement with the Italian club allowed Tottenham to swoop in and secure an agreement for the Italian.
Manchester United eventually agreed to pay €50 million plus bonuses for Onana, but it took some time before they agreed to meet the demands of Inter Milan for the player.
The Italian outfit will certainly be disappointed to have missed out on the goalkeeper, especially after seeing his performances in the Premier League. Vicario has managed to hit the ground running in English football and he is only going to get better with coaching and experience.
If he continues to perform at this level in the coming months, the €18.5 million fee could look like a major bargain. Spurs needed a quality replacement for club legend Hugo Lloris and Italian has certainly lived up to the expectations so far.
