Fiorentina goalkeeper Tommaso Martinelli has caught the eye of Tottenham in the past
Tottenham Hotspur have found solid success in raiding the Italian market in recent years. The influence of Fabio Paratici—former managing director of football—became profound in the north London club’s signings.
Fabio Paratici’s know-how of Italian football and contacts helped Spurs land the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie and Pierluigi Gollini. Despite the highly-rated sporting director resigning from his post at Tottenham on March 31, 2023, after his former club Juventus were found guilty of false accounting, Tottenham have not stopped signing players from Serie A clubs.
They signed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli last summer, while defender Radu Dragusin arrived from Genoa in the January transfer window. Spurs have now established a strong relationship with the Italian clubs over the last few years, thanks to Paratici. And now it looks like they have set their sights on someone plying his trade for an Italian club.
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According to transfer insider Paul O Keefe, Tottenham are planning to sign a goalkeeper before the transfer window slams shut. They are looking for a backup goalkeeper and have been impressed by Fiorentina’s Tommaso Martinelli in the past.
“Spurs are looking to add a goalkeeper this window. Tommaso Martinelli was one who previously caught their eye,” O Keefe tweeted from his X account.
Tommaso Martinelli, a product of the Fiorentina academy, is rated as among the most exciting young goalkeepers in Serie A. He has excelled at the Primavera in recent years and pushed his way into the Italy youth system.
The teenager spent most of the 2023/24 season as Fiorentina’s third-choice goalkeeper or back-up to No.1 Pietro Terracciano while Oliver Christensen was sidelined for up to three months with a knee injury. Martinelli had to bide his time for first-team debut and it eventually came in La Viola’s final game of the season.
Former Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano handed the 18-year-old a chance to shine away at Atalanta on June 2. Martinelli did well on his debut, and while he conceded two goals, he made a crucial save to deny Gianluca Scamacca and helped Fiorentina end the season on a high with a win.
Martinelli is an extremely talented goalkeeper with huge potential waiting to explode. Spurs have supposedly identified him as a big talent and may invest in him this summer, regardless of having enough depth in goal with Guglielmo Vicario, Fraser Forster, Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman at head coach Ange Postecoglou’s disposal.
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Fiorentina’s acquisition of former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea on a free transfer earlier this month has blocked Martinelli’s scope for development within the first team. This should prompt him to leave his boyhood club and Spurs may look to capitalize on the situation with their contacts in Italy.
That being said, however, there is still no certainty that we will make a move for the Italian shot-stopper this summer as our goalkeeping department is well stocked.
