Serie A chief rues move for brilliant Tottenham summer signing who ‘should have stayed in Italy’
Tottenham new boys James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario in pre-season training
As Tottenham summer signing Guglielmo Vicario continues to enjoy an outstanding first season in the Premier League, there are many in Italy who rued the goalkeeper quitting Serie A when he did.
Spurs splashed out €19million to land the stopper from Empoli in a deal that was considered fairly risky, given that many football experts in this country knew little about Vicario.
However, in Italy, the 27-year-old was earning rave reviews and it came as no surprise when he eventually made the move to England.
But many voices in Italy were unhappy at losing such a talent to the Premier League, as reported by Vicario‘s former manager at Cagliari, Leonardo Simplici.
Simplici knows the player well and although he’s happy at how things have been going for Vicario, he wishes the talented keeper had joined one of Italy’s bigger clubs instead.
“When I gave him his debut with Cagliari, Vicario’s qualities were already apparent. But I have to say that he surprised me too, obviously they were good to give him confidence at Empoli, to believe in him without giving weight to his potential mistakes. So he had a great run and earned this chance to go to the Premier League,” said Simplici.
“I would have preferred to see him in an Italian team, but unfortunately the market is open in every sense.
“What matters is that he is enjoying his adventure in a great team like Tottenham, and I hope he can also continue. I am also pleased to see him in the orbit of the national team.”
Vicario arguably one of the buys of the summer
Vicario has made 12 appearances for Tottenham so far this season, starting all of their Premier League outings and conceding 15 goals in the process.
He also has a lengthy contract in north London which runs until 2028, which shows the confidence Spurs had in Vicario’s ability when they signed him.
Vicario leaving it all out there for this club. 💪🏼
Special signing this guy. 👌🏼#THFC | #COYS | #TTIDpic.twitter.com/hXi6k7EMtd
— That Tottenham Feed (@Tottenham_Feed) November 14, 2023
And although the stopper has yet to make his full Italy debut, he is expected to be part of their squad for next summer’s European Championships after they qualified for the finals at Ukraine’s expense this week.
Should he recover from illness in time, Vicario should line up for Tottenham again when they welcome Aston Villa to north London on Sunday.
The clash with Villa is a big one for Spurs as they look to bounce back from successive defeats against Chelsea and Wolves.
