Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris is no longer the world class goalkeeper he once was, and should not be the club’s number one beyond this season.
Hugo Lloris has been a loyal, and on the whole, extremely reliable performer for Spurs, however his time at the club must come to an end.
The 31-year-old shot stopper joined the North Londoners in 2012 and quickly proved what an outstanding goalkeeper he was in his first few years at the club.
A fantastic shot stopper, with incredible reactions and a bravery to play the sweeper keeper role, he soon became captain of his club as well as country, winning the World Cup for France last summer.
However, as football has progressed, Lloris has not, and his limitations are now holding Mauricio Pochettino’s side back.
The requirements for a modern day keeper are to be as good on the ball as they are at keeping it out of the net.
Unfortunately for Spurs, this is where Lloris falls down.
Liverpool spending £66.8 million on Alisson in the summer, a ball playing keeper, shows just how important it is nowadays for the top clubs to have a number one who is good on the ball.
It is no coincidence that the top two Premier League sides have the two best keepers with the ball at their feet, with Manchester City’s Ederson being the other.
With every big club now insisting on playing the ball out from the back, it is imperative to have a goalkeeper who they can trust to pass, whether that is over a short or long distance.
Lloris often struggles with the ball at his feet, and puts his side under pressure far too often by playing difficult passes.
In the instances where Lloris does go long, his technique is more of an up and under, getting lots of height, but not much distance, again making it extremely difficult for his team to get the ball under control.
This was evident in the 4-2 defeat away to rivals Arsenal at the weekend, who pressed Spurs high and aggressively.
Not having Lloris as an able passer meant Spurs struggled to bypass that pressure, and had to change shape to accommodate his lack of ability on the ball.
Add to that a worrying trend of the former Lyon stopper making costly errors in big games.
Lloris’ misjudgements led to an early goal conceded against Barcelona and a sending off away to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League this season, two major factors in Spurs dropping points in either game, and subsequently likely to miss out on a place in the knockout stages of Europe’s premier competition.
It is therefore now imperative Tottenham look for a new number one if they wish to truly challenge for the major honours.
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