There’s no doubt that Lloris has been a stalwart of Tottenham for a decade now, and has been a great captain in his time here. But the question has to be asked sooner or later: who will succeed him as the Spurs Number 1?
It’s indeed possible for keepers to keep playing at high levels well into their 30s as the likes of Manuel Neuer, Keylor Navas, Kasper Schmeichel, Gigi Buffon, Samir Handanovic and Iker Casillas demonstrate. But at the same time, relying on an aging and (let’s be honest) error-prone stopper who is still class at present, but who will only begin to decline in performance going forward is not the most sustainable operation. The question of who will take up the mantle has to be asked. There is also the fact that Tottenham are the only top Premier League club with a “GK longevity issue” so to speak with Liverpool, Man City, United, Chelsea, and Arsenal’s keepers set to be Starting XI worthy for years to come with Alisson, Ederson, de Gea, Bendy and Ramsdale, respectively. If we want to remain competitive at the top of the league, the clock is ticking.
With that in mind, the market for top-quality keepers is rather dry at the moment, but there are a couple of options:
Jan Oblak – the best keeper currently “available” with a fantastic history at Atlético Madrid. However, despite his greatness, his form has indisputably fallen in the last year or so and isn’t quite at the heights he used to be. That and the fact he’d cost a significant sum to parse from Atlético and convince him to come to England, even with the likely promise of continuous Champions League football.
Diogo Costa: Arguably the most effective long-term option, Costa is only 22 years old and yet is already a nailed-on starter not only for a sizeable European side in Porto but has displaced the likes of Anthony Lopes and Rui Patricio as Portugal’s keeper. That and his great performances at the World Cup for the Seleção mean he’s able to compete on the biggest stages at such a young age. Costa is already the subject of intense speculation about his future, so Spurs will need to act fast if they don’t want another club to poach him.
Jordan Pickford: On balance not as adept as Oblak or Costa, Pickford is nevertheless England’s Number 1 for a reason. A more than solid choice, and a Premier League-proven shot stopper, Jordan would doubtless form good chemistry with another former Evertonian in Richarlison, in addition to being the most affordable of the three.
Other options might include the likes Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt), Yacine Bonou (Sevilla) and Dominik Livakovic (Zagreb), the latter two having superb World Cup campaigns (as much as it is inadvisable to procure footballers based solely on their international tournament performances) but I’m curious what you all think – who would be the right option for Tottenham going forward?
