In preparation for the 2023-24 Premier League season, Tottenham decided enough was enough and brought in a new goalkeeper.
Enter .
Hugo Lloris has been a gallant servant for the London club, but the amount of mistakes he was making meant change felt inevitable this summer. Spurs moved quickly to snap up Empoli's Vicario in a deal worth an initial £17.2million.
Vicario emerged as the primary target for Spurs after their interest in Brentford’s David Raya waned due to his hefty £40m price tag.
There is much hope around the 26-year-old Italian, at least a lot more than compatriot Pierluigi Gollini - who struggled to make an impact when on loan at Tottenham during the 2021-22 season.
Our Expected Transfer Value (xTV) right now for Vicario is €7.9million. The highest it has ever been is €8.4m, but his price tag has really rocketed since making the move from AC Perugia Calcio to Empoli.
The shot stopper gained his first taste of senior action during the 2014-15 season with Fontanafredda, where he made 30 appearances in the fourth tier of Italian football.
It is quite a story.
The turnaround was not lost on Vicario, either. He told Spurs’ in-house media upon signing: “Yes, I’m excited. It’s a dream for me to be here, one of the biggest teams in England and in the Premier League. I’d like to start quickly, to join my team-mates because, for me, it’s a big pleasure to be here.
“I didn’t believe this opportunity. I told my agent it’s my first choice, I want to go to the Premier League and a big club like Spurs. For me, it’s so exciting.
“I want to learn a lot of things because the culture of football in Italy is so different. I need to adapt quickly to my team-mates, to the style of play, [there are] so many differences between Italian football and the Premier League.”
Vicario has described himself as an attacking goalkeeper. This will be music to the ears of new manager Ange Postecoglou, who is a progressive coach and sets his teams up to be on the front foot.
For Postecoglou, it all starts off with a goalkeeper who is very comfortable on the ball, and Vicario fits the bill.
Their new No.1 is the personification of a new era in north London.