Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is reportedly ready to sign a new contract with the club, but the contract talks are being put on hold in order to concentrate on a number of important fixtures coming up for the club. Lloris is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and he has been a silent force behind Spurs’ commitment to compete for the top four places quite regularly in the last few years. After signing from Lyon in the summer of 2012, Lloris faces no real threat for his first-team spot at the moment.
However, there is a growing concern at White Hart Lane that the goalkeeper may consider offers elsewhere since the club are not ready to pay him the £100,000 per week wages, which he is after. Since Lloris only has just over two years left on his contract, any news about the new deal should come about soon if the club are to avoid any nervous or anxious moments in the summer.
The club’s strict wage policy of £100,000 per week is threatening to see Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris have their heads turned the by significantly better offers from other clubs. Harry Kane recently came out dismissing rumours that he was unhappy at the club, but Lloris only preferred to focus on the fact that his contract talks have been postponed.
In a recent interview with a national newspaper, the goalkeeper went on to say that the club have an important run of games in the Champions League and the Premier League coming up. Hence, it would be a major distraction to talk about new contracts at this moment in time. Since he had a great relationship with Mauricio Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy, he was confident that a deal would be agreed. According to the Independent, he said:
“There are times during a season when as a player you have to think about yourself and there are times when you have to think about the team – and this is one of those times when it is more important to be focused on the team.
“I don’t think this is the right moment to talk about my contract, but I want to repeat my commitment is to the club and there is no rush.”
Even after this statement, Spurs fans do have the right to be worried about Lloris. He has been one of the club’s best goalkeepers in more than a decade, and he remains capable of putting in some excellent seasons considering that he is only 29. On the contrary, it is also a great time to sell him and cash in on the profits. The club signed him for a €10 million base fee with a further €5 million as performance related bonuses. Lloris will now command a transfer fee in the region of £20 million if he was to be sold.
Mauricio Pochettino is highly unlikely to consider selling the player since he has been a huge part of everything good done by the club in recent years. As a club captain, Lloris would expect to be paid similar or better than that of midfielder Mousa Sissoko.
