Tottenham Still Eyeing Goalkeeper Pau López
Tottenham still need some attacking help, but their interest in a goalkeeper hasn’t gone away just yet.
There are rumors flying around (with no concrete link), that Michel Vorm is allegedly being eyed by Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers, who made him his first-choice goalkeeper at Swansea City several years ago.
If this is the case, then Tottenham’s interest in Espanyol ‘keeper, Pau López, makes much more sense because Mauricio Pochettino is thinking of having the Spaniard back up Hugo Lloris should Spurs sign the 21-year-old.
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Now in order for the Catalan club to part ways with their second starting goalkeeper in consecutive seasons, following Kiko Casilla’s sale to Real Madrid last year, Espanyol are seeking €5 million (£4.2 million).
According to the IBTimes, Mauricio Pochettino sees Pau López as a priority signing, which is a bit of a stretch considering that Spurs need more attacking help than goalkeeping help if the team needed to pick one position over the other.
Still, a €5 million offer is doable especially if Espanyol are willing to sell should a good offer entice them.
Aiding Tottenham’s pursuit for López is the fact that Angel Gomez, Espanyol’s sporting director, is uncertain if the 21-year-old will be a part of the club’s squad for this upcoming season.
“Pau is our goalkeeper, he belongs to Espanyol and has a good potential,” Gomez said (via AS).
“I have great confidence in him but if there is an economical proposal that is very interesting [for the club] and that convinces him [to leave] we will have to make a decision.”
“But in the meantime, he is an Espanyol player.”
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While Gomez acknowledges that López is still on the club’s books, the fact that Quique Sánchez Flores signed Roberto Jiménez from Olympiacos complicates things.
Obviously with Jiménez now in contention for the starting goalkeeper job, it would seem that Pau López, could be on the move after becoming a starter last year and having a good season.
But an exit hasn’t fully been confirmed (since no offer from Tottenham has been sumbitted). “Pau is an Espanyol player and he must fight for his place [in the line-up],” Angel Gomez added.
With Mauricio Pochettino showing an increasing interest in López and the fact that he would be open to a move to the Premier League — if possible — this makes the entire situation even more complicated than it should be.
When word first broke that Tottenham were looking at the possibility to sign Pau López earlier this month, Espanyol were trying to secure Federico Fazio on a season-long loan with an option to buy before parting with López.
Because the Argentine center-back agreed to join AS Roma on loan instead, what should have been a dead deal between Spurs and Espanyol, hasn’t gone away just yet.
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The only way for Pau López to join Tottenham is if Michel Vorm is indeed sold to Brendan Rodgers and Celtic in the Scottish Premiership or to another club.
If this happens, Lopez would be the short-term backup to Hugo Lloris and if he’s okay with that then why not sign him if he provides Tottenham with an upgrade over Vorm?
By the time Lloris is ready to step aside for the Under-21 Spanish international to take his place (which won’t be anytime soon), Spurs would have a good starting goalkeeper on their hands.
For now though, until an offer is submitted, this is still just a rumor.