Paul Robinson doesn’t think Tottenham Hotspur and France’s number one goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, is a top-level player and he is also someone that is making more and more mistakes, as the told Stadium Astro.
The former England international thinks Lloris ‘isn’t at the level’ he once was and he is perhaps coming to the end of his career.
The 35-year-old has produced a number of error-prone performances this season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is replaced in north London when the summer transfer window re-opens.
On the international stage, he has won the biggest of them all – the 2018 World Cup in Russia and now he is out in Qatar trying to help his nation defend that crown.
France had to come from behind to beat Australia 4-1 at the World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday, with Lloris starting in between the sticks for his country.
Robinson discussed Lloris’ game and suggested how he is starting to decline and how his name wouldn’t go alongside the elite goalkeepers Ederson, Alisson Becker or Manuel Neuer.
“You talk about one of the world’s best, no he’s not one of the world’s best,” said Robinson. “But you look at the honours he has got. The World Cups that he has won.
“I don’t think he’s at the level he first set when he first came to Tottenham. I think he has errors in him. He’s error-prone, at times. There are question marks about him coming for crosses and around the ball at his feet.
“But you look at the defence he is behind. You look at the team he plays in. His age. His experience. I look at the two keepers on the bench, Areola and Mandanda (for France), he has no competition in that squad, whatsoever.
“Hugo’s coming towards the end of his career. He’s not at the end of his career, and he still has a lot to give, but I think, at Tottenham, I see more mistakes coming in more regularly. He’s always had a mistake. There has never been that air of confidence around him. He seems to be very, very quiet and he makes the odd mistake, but now there is more and more coming in.
“Is he in the top world bracket of goalkeepers? The Neuer’s, Alisson’s and the Ederson’s? He sits underneath it, for me.”
LLORIS HAS BEEN A GREAT SERVANT
Tottenham need to look for the next kid on the block, and in truth, someone should have been brought in to push Lloris a number of years ago.
The issue is that Spurs have always had a senior player, like Joe Hart or now Fraser Forster to just really sit behind the £12 million signing from 2012 (BBC Sport) and provide little competition.
If that young gun is brought in, then it might bring out a different type of energy and quality from Lloris, which will bode well for the club.
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