Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 12:05 pm• Dominic Mostert • Last update: 12:08

Tottenham Hotspur have completed the arrival of Pierluigi Gollini. The goalkeeper is rented from Atalanta for a season, after which the Spurs an option to buy of fifteen million euros. That option will come into effect if Gollini plays at least twenty games for the club next season. Gollini is seen by Tottenham as the long-term successor to Hugo Lloris, who has only been signed for one year.

Gollini, 26, is Tottenham’s first summer reinforcement. He played in youth for Fiorentina and Manchester United. In 2014, he left Manchester United for Hellas Verona and made his professional football debut with that club. After two seasons, in which Gollini played a total of 29 matches in Serie A, he signed in the Championship with Aston Villa. He made twenty appearances in the first half of the 2016/17 season, but lost his starting spot and was loaned to Atalanta for eighteen months from January 2017. That switch became permanent in the summer of 2018.

Gollini started as second choice behind Etrit Berisha, but conquered a starting place in the second half of his debut year. After Berisha left in the summer, Gollini became the undisputed first choice. He had a starting spot in the six group matches of the 2019/20 Champions League season. Last season, trainer Gian Piero Gasperini switched between Gollini and Marco Sportiello. As a result, Gollini made two appearances in the group stage, the 0-2 win over Liverpool and the 0-1 win over Ajax, and played one eighth final match against Real Madrid. He ended the season as the first goalkeeper. By attracting goalkeeper Juan Musso from Udinese this summer, Gollini would not have a starting spot in the new season.

In November 2019, Gollini made his debut for the Italian national team when he came on as a substitute in a European Championship qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was not part of Italy’s final European Championship squad. It is possible that Gollini will be followed towards London by Cristian Romero. Tottenhem and Atalanta are in talks about the 23-year-old defender. On Thursday, journalist Gianluigi Longari reported that Atalanta had rejected an English bid totaling 45 million euros. According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the number three of the last Serie A season wants an amount of 55 million euros for Romero. He himself would already agree on a five-year contract in London.