Tottenham Hotspur will have to pay £35 million to re-sign Pau Lopez, according to Calciomercato – three years after the Spanish international goalkeeper endured a frustrating loan spell in north London.
It’s fair to say Spurs’ handling of one of Europe’s best young shot-stoppers does not exactly look brilliant with the benefit of hindsight.
Lopez spent the 2016/17 season at Spurs but departed having failed to make a single first-team appearance under Mauricio Pochettino.
Why the Catalan ‘keeper was forced to play U23 football during his short-lived spell in England is anyone’s guess. He arrived at Tottenham with almost 70 La Liga appearances under his belt, after all.
The London Standard claim that Spurs had an option to sign Lopez permanently for just £6 million. Three years on, they will have to pay around £30 million more for the privilege.
In a shock twist, the 2019 Champions League finalists have been tipped to bring Lopez back for a second spell in the capital.
West Ham and Chelsea have also been linked, via Estadio Deportivo.
But after a fine debut season at Roma, in which the 25-year-old has cemented his place as one of the up-and-coming goalkeeping talents on the continent, Lopez won’t come cheap.
Calciomercato say the Giallorossi want £35 million, although they have Atalanta’s Pierluigi Gollini lined up in case Lopez does go.
With father time creeping up on Hugo Lloris, and Paulo Gazzaniga failing to prove that he can be relied upon on a regular basis, a new goalkeeper would be well received at Tottenham.
But few might have expected that it could be one Pochettino overlooked just a few years ago.
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