Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has been closely linked with a move back to Serie A, with Inter Milan standing out as clear favorites to snap the Italian international back up. Vicario has endured a very difficult 2025/26 Premier League and Champions League season for Spurs that has only gotten worse due to the pain from a hernia, which he will finally undergo surgery for.
Even though Spurs have apparently known that Vic has been playing through pain, they have still been looking at alternatives in goal on the market. James Trafford of Manchester City, who is also Gianluigi Donnarumma's backup albeit for club, is a dream option for many Spurs fans, but he doesn't seem to be on the market.
According to a report from talkSPORT's Alex Crook, if Tottenham Hotspur are able to stay up in the Premier League this season, Roberto De Zerbi could reunite with Brighton starting goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who is one of the better shot stoppers in the Premier League and much more consistent than Guglielmo Vicario. He has also been loosely linked to Spurs in the past.
Bart Verbruggen is outplaying Guglielmo Vicario
Whereas Vicario makes a lot of basic mistakes on the ball and with crosses while deteriorating his save percentage to the worst among Premier League starters this season, Verbruggen has saved a healthy 72.6 percent of the shots he has faced this season for Brighton.
When pondering the decision to replace Vicario this summer, though, Tottenham and Roberto De Zerbi will have to freshly evaluate Vic after the March international break. His play may rebound to where it was when he was one of the top pure shot stoppers in the Premier League, as he is getting his hernia surgery and should, theoretically, improve significantly if a large part of his decline in play, particularly the shot stopping, was born as a result of the pain from the injury.
But Vicario's concerns about the basic mistakes, on the ball issues, and poor command of the box will not be fully erased by the surgery. Tottenham do need to look at goalkeeping options, and the fact that Antonin Kinsky, Vicario's backup, is likely to leave on loan will only reenforce the point that Spurs need to be in the market for a keeper. But if they want an established Premier League starter like Verbruggen from a decent club like Brighton, then they are going to have to stay up.