Tottenham optimistically looking at Lazio’s keeper as Lloris replacement
By Gary Pearson
Lazio’s Thomas Strakosha has impressed Tottenham’s scouts and is one of the keeper’s favoured to be brought in to challenge Hugo Lloris for the number one role.
Born in Greece but committed to Albania on the international stage, Strakosha, other than for a brief stint with Salernitana in Serie B, has played his club football for Lazio since turning professional in 2014.
The 25-year-old has a frame perfectly suited for his role. Standing imperiously at 6 feet 4 inches, Strakosha’s reach makes life miserable for opposing strikers. His agility and ability to get low isn’t hampered by his large frame, but he has taken criticism for not being able to dominate the air the way his reach should facilitate.
That slight blemish aside, Strakosha looks like he could, with a bit of nurturing, take in stride a more demanding role. He’s at a perfect age to make the jump to the Premier League, leaving at least a decade to hone his craft.
His value on the open market, according to Transfermarkt, is about £20 million. It’s a fair asking price. The glaring question, though, is whether Strakosha has what it takes to unseat Lloris as Spurs’ first choice keeper.
There is no sure bet in football, but the Albanian international is a risk worth taking. Though he’d be a pretty expensive backup keeper, so Tottenham would have every intention of seeing him ascend to the top of their keeper ranks.
Next. It's time to say goodbye to key member of squad. dark
At the moment, he’s by no means Lloris’ equal. But that could change with time and experience. But are Spurs interested in affording a comparatively inexperienced keeper those precious allowances? If they’re in a rebuild, the answer is yes.