Positivity never tends to last long at Tottenham Hotspur. As night follows day, the high of their 4-0 win over Manchester City has been swiftly and severely followed by news of Guglielmo Vicario’s long-term injury.
The Italian revealed he played an hour against City with a fractured ankle he has since had surgery on, and his absence is expected to extend to months rather than weeks.
In short, this is not good news for Ange Postecoglou. His pronounced weakness at set-pieces aside, Vicario is among the Premier League’s best shot-stoppers and fits the Australian’s tactical framework perfectly.
He has prevented the third-most goals of all Premier League keepers this season (2.9) – calculated by removing goals allowed from post-shot expected goals against – and a protracted break could seriously damage Spurs’ season.
So, how can Postecoglou navigate this crucial loss?
Trust in Fraser Forster
This is the most likely option, and really the only one to take in the short term.
Having already started twice in the Europa League and once in the Carabao Cup this season, Forster is Tottenham’s undoubted second-choice stopper.
Now 36, he has extensive Premier League experience and is comfortable with his feet – a necessity under Postecoglou – but has not played in the Premier League since May 2023.
That was also the last time he played two consecutive games, a challenge in its own right ahead of the packed festive schedule. Spurs have 10 matches to play before the end of December, including a Carabao Cup quarter-final and Premier League clashes with Chelsea and Liverpool.
He has been solid so far this season, although fans still reference a disastrous performance against Fulham in 2023-24 which demonstrates his potential downside.
Forster is a functional option in goal, albeit not a glamorous one, but the month before the January transfer window will provide Spurs the opportunity to assess whether the gentle giant can be depended on.
Sign a replacement on 1 January
Forster effectively has a month to determine whether he can adequately serve the club he was expected to leave next summer anyway.
But really, Tottenham shouldn’t have put him or themselves in this situation anyway. The disparity between Forster and Vicario is a failure in the club’s squad planning and something which has needed addressing long before this week.
An elite back-up goalkeeper should now be standard fare for any side with Champions League ambition, yet Spurs have delayed upgrading on Forster and may well now pay the price.
If you look at the clubs around Tottenham in the Premier League, it’s not until you reach clubs like Brentford and Fulham that you see such a dramatic drop-off in quality between starting and supporting goalkeepers.
And so pursuing a stronger back-up should be a necessity regardless of how Forster performs. When Liverpool and Manchester City can call on Caoimhin Kelleher and Stefan Ortega, or even Brighton on Jason Steele or West Ham on Lukasz Fabianski, Spurs need to strengthen in the net.
But whether they do this in January or the summer will depend entirely on how Forster holds up throughout December.
Give another back-up a chance
There is also a third way here, albeit one which will almost certainly not be pursued unless Forster produces a series of calamitous errors over the coming weeks.
American Brandon Austin and Englishman Alfie Whiteman are third- and fourth-choice keeper, although neither have played a Premier League minute since graduating from the Spurs academy in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
19-year-old Luca Gunter is also highly thought of, and has been linked with promotion to the first team for some time. In terms of raw talent and potential ceiling of his ability, he could well leapfrog Austin and Whiteman if Postecoglou was looking for alternatives to Forster.
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