Andros Townsend has told talkSPORT that Heurelho Gomes was ‘unbelievable’ in training for Tottenham despite his serious struggles on matchdays.
Gomes joined Spurs in 2008 when he moved from Dutch side PSV, but for large parts of his career in North London, he was error-prone and he struggled to make a name for himself.
Crystal Palace winger, Townsend played with the Brazil shot-stopper during his time at the club and he was naming five underrated players he has played with.
Despite what Spurs fans saw on the field of play, Townsend painted a different picture of Gomes behind the scenes and he also included Mousa Dembele in his list (the others were Tom Huddlestone, Jack Wilshere and Bobby Zamora).
“My goalkeeper is Gomes,” said Townsend. “My old goalkeeper at Spurs because in training he was unbelievable.
“Like literally, his shot-stopping, his arms were so long. Nothing went passed him in training.
“And I have gone for Moussa Dembele because you could never get the ball off him. He was so strong. He only had one foot. You knew he was going to his left foot. But because he was so strong, he would go onto his left foot and literally give you a forearm and you are gone.”
After his struggles with Tottenham, Gomes moved to Watford where he fared bettered and became a fan favourite amongst supporters.
A popular figure at Vicarage Road, he retired over the summer when the club suffered relegation to the Championship.
Whilst Gomes had his up and down moments in the Premier League, one thing he did leave with was the backing of the fans because of how he played the game.
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