Tottenham sign Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as Hugo Lloris' future remains uncertain

Tottenham have signed Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario on a five-year deal, subject to international clearance and a work permit. 

The signing throws the future of Hugo Lloris into further doubt. The Frenchman joined Spurs in 2012, but his current contract is up next summer and the consensus among the fanbase is that his performances have declined recently, underlined by the fact that he made four errors leading to goals last season, more than any other Premier League stopper during that period. 

After putting pen to paper, Vicario said: "It's a dream for me to be here. It's one of the biggest teams here in England, so I'd like to start quickly, to join my team-mates.

"It's my first choice. I wanted to go to the Premier League and to a big club like Spurs. For me, it's so exciting."

Vicario will take the No 13 shirt and joins his new club following two years at Empoli, where he marshalled the backline superbly, recording the fifth-highest save percentage in Serie A last term.

The 26-year-old came through the ranks at Udinese before a lack of first-team opportunities saw him move permanently to Venezia, where he was part of two promotion-winning sides.

A loan move to fellow Serie B side Perugia followed, before permanent transfers to Cagliari and Empoli.

He has also been called up to the Italy set-up three times by Roberto Mancini over the past year, but has yet to earn his first cap. 

Vicario follows Dejan Kulusevski through the door as the first two signings of the Ange Postecoglou era. 

The Swede spent the last two years on loan from Juventus, with the winger proving one of the brighter sparks in 2022/23 as Spurs finished eighth - the first time they have finished outside the European places for 14 years.