Tottenham Hotspur wanted Unai Simon before signing Guglielmo Vicario
According to Spanish publication AS, Tottenham Hotspur wanted to sign Spanish number one Unai Simon to replace Hugo Lloris before eventually settling on Guglielmo Vicario.
Just when it felt like we were done with goalkeeping drama for the foreseeable future, news has emerged that Simon was one of the prospects for Tottenham but they eventually moved on due to his asking price.
Unai Simon is one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga. It is not without merit that he finds himself as the first choice in between the sticks for La Roja and he would have been a sensational signing for us.
Simon plays his football for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. The Spanish side have a very unique way of doing business with their strict policy of signing players only from the Basque region and hence, never having to make a sale for financial reasons.
They are always known to make life difficult for any buying club and it looks like Tottenham faced just that when they tried to sign Simon. The gulf in valuation was too huge to proceed with the negotiations.
The North London club were only willing to pay £17.2 million for the Spain international but Bilbao asked for £43 million to part ways with their star goalkeeper. It clearly shows how different the two clubs thought of the player.
Ideally, the fee must have lied somewhere in between. Simon is an extraordinary keeper with great distribution skills and would have suited Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou perfectly. Maybe, Tottenham should have tried harder.
However, thankfully for Tottenham, we secured the signing of Vicario from Empoli. Having the reputation of one of the most impressive keepers in Serie A last season, it is safe to say that we have shopped well.
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As much as we don’t want it to happen, if Vicario does not work out, it might make Tottenham wonder if they must have tried harder for Simon. However, hindsight is always an easier thing to ponder over. Tottenham made a decision and let’s stick by it.
