HotspurHQ Awards; Tottenham’s Top Underperformers this Season
By Ben Wylie
Pierluigi Gollini – The lonely loanee
Following the departure of backup goalkeeper Joe Hart, a new understudy for Hugo Lloris was a necessity at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last summer, with Fabio Paratici opting to bring Atalanta’s Pierluigi Gollini on loan for the season as his first signing.
With Lloris being the club captain and undisputed number one, Gollini would never be a regular. However, even his sparse appearances were disappointing.
The Italian has played ten times this season, none of which have been in the Premier League, and boasts just one clean sheet in a Carabao Cup game against Burnley.
Gollini’s final match for Tottenham came in the Carabao Cup second-leg against Chelsea. Although Spurs were already 2-0 down from the first leg, a misjudged cross from the keeper allowed Antonio Rudiger to open the scoring and, in essence, kill the tie.
Despite his little involvement in the team, Gollini is supposedly a popular character in the dressing room, even recently spotted at Dele Alli’s birthday party, showing that he has added value off the pitch, if nothing else.
Unfortunately, this won’t be enough to keep him in North London after his sub-par performances, with Paratici and Conte unlikely to trigger the buy option in his deal, bringing an end to his forgettable time at N17.
Story continues…