Well, Wolverhampton Wanderers certainly can’t say that they haven’t been warned.
Pierluigi Gollini had only been a Tottenham Hotspur player for a matter of months before Antonio Conte decided against triggering the £13 million option-to-buy clause in the goalkeeper’s contract last season; a man brought in to provide competition for the ageing and increasingly error-prone Hugo Lloris doing nothing of the sort.
That was not the first time Gollini had failed to make a positive impression on English soil either. He left Manchester United as a teenager back in 2014 after struggling to make the grade at Carrington. His short-lived spell at Aston Villa in 2016, meanwhile, lasted just six error-strewn months; sold at a loss after a grand total of 20 Championship appearances.
So reports suggesting that Gollini could be handed yet another stab at English football with Wolves – TuttoAtalanta believe the Italy international could be brought in as a back-up to Jose Sa – are bound to raise an eyebrow or two.
And that’s before you factor in Gollini’s disappointing stint at Fiorentina. He’s started just three Serie A games since joining La Viola on yet another short-term deal last summer. The writing has been on the wall Gollini ever since that horror mistake during September’s 3-0 defeat by Istanbul Basaksehir.
Wolves could take a punt on Serie A goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini
“Unfortunately, (Gollini’s move) didn’t go as expected. A second thought about the goalkeeper could be in order,” Fiorentina legend Giancarlo Antognoni tells TMW. “I don’t know what will happen.”
“I thought it could be Gollini’s year,” adds former Serie A ‘keeper Gianluca Pagliuca (Radio Firenze Viola). “But (Fiorentina’s number one, Pietro) Terracciano has shown that he is very consistent and is having a very good season.”
Now, some context is required. That disappointing stint at Aston Villa was seven years ago now,. And Gollini has since played Champions League football while forcing his way into Italian national team. And while things didn’t really go to plan at Tottenham either, he certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that the coach who signed him – Nuno Espirito Santo – was sacked just weeks into 2021/22.
Fourth time lucky?
Gollini, at Wolves, is unlikely to be anything more than an experienced back-up either. His impressive distribution, meanwhile, will appeal to Julen Lopetegui; the new Wolves boss having made no secret of his desire to help current number one Jose Sa improve with the ball at his feet.
“Goalkeeper is a different position,” Lopetegui tells The Athletic. “Not just for us but for all teams. The goalkeeping position is key.
“We will try to involve (Jose Sa) more in our offensive phase. He has to understand this and he is working very hard to understand. After that, he is a good goalkeeper and we are happy with him.”
Gollini’s confidence with the ball at his feet is likely to be a major factor in Wolves’ interest.
But, whichever way you slice it, signing a player who has failed to make his mark on three separate occasions in English football will always come with a great degree of risk.
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