Tottenham Hotspur loanee Pierluigi Gollini has admitted that he has been left ‘surprised’ by the humility of fellow goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Gollini was signed on loan from Atalanta last summer as Fabio Paratici pounced to add another goalkeeper.
With Joe Hart allowed to join Celtic, Gollini’s arrival was vital as he offered key cover for Lloris in goal.
Gollini has been with two English teams before; Manchester United and Aston Villa. Neither spell ended with Gollini becoming a first-team goalkeeper.
United allowed Gollini to go as a youngster whilst a 2016 move to Villa ended with him being sent to Atalanta within months.
Tottenham’s move was therefore seen as something of a risk especially given the chance of a permanent deal.
As noted by Sky Sports, Tottenham had an obligation to sign Gollini permanently from Atalanta if he played 20 games.
Gollini has only played 10 games in all competitions for Tottenham so that clause won’t be activated.
Still, Tuttomercatoweb claim that Tottenham now want to keep hold of Gollini on loan for another season.
That’s something of a surprise given Gollini’s lack of action – and a pretty big mistake against Chelsea in January – but maybe Antonio Conte values him as backup for Lloris.
Gollini has now been speaking about Lloris over in Italy, telling Tuttomercatoweb that he has been ‘surprised’ by the humility of first-choice stopper Lloris.
A World Cup winner and 10-year Premier League veteran, Lloris has seen it all but there is seemingly nothing ‘diva’ about the Frenchman.
Gollini did note that going from starting in the Champions League with Atalanta to sitting on the Tottenham bench has not been easy for him.
If Tottenham do secure Gollini for another year, the Italian will likely have to put up with the same role again.
“It’s not easy to go from playing in the Champions League to the bench,” said Gollini. “But it improves you and Lloris surprised me with his humility,” he added.
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