Tottenham Hotspur were on the lookout for a new shot-stopper last summer and they ended up signing Guglielmo Vicario from FC Empoli for a fee of £17 million.
The 27-year-old has been their preferred choice in goal since arriving at the club. While the Italian shot-stopper has been sensational with the ball at his feet and has done a great job in terms of shot-stopping, his inability to come out and deal with a set piece has attracted criticism.
Former West Ham United shot-stopper Shaka Hislop was quite critical of the 27-year-old’s performance against his old club while speaking on ESPN. He felt the Italian international wasn’t strong enough to bump into players and deal with set pieces.
West Ham players managed to pin Tottenham defenders during the set piece and Vicario failed to rush out and claim the ball.
Hislop said to ESPN: “He simply isn’t strong enough to bump players out of the way. West Ham aren’t going to move anybody – they are staying in the six-yard box, challenging Vicario. Spurs are on a hiding to nothing, with Vicario.”
Spurs took the lead against the Hammers on Tuesday night thanks to a Brennan Johnson goal but they soon ended up conceding from a corner. A win would have seen them go level on points with Aston Villa who are currently fourth. Unfortunately, they failed to get the desired result.
Kurt Zouma headed home the equaliser from a set-piece which now seems to be a weakness in Spurs’ game since they have conceded 10 goals from set-pieces this season.
On the back of their disappointing draw, Hislop suggested that the 27-year-old shot-stopper is not strong enough and is holding Tottenham back. The Italian will have to work on his strength during the summer and his ability to collect balls in crowded situations or it might not be long before Spurs start thinking of pushing for a new number one.
