Spurs have signed Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini on a season-long loan, with the option of making the move permanent.
Nuno Espirito Santo signs the 26-year-old Italian in his first signing of the summer as Tottenham’s backup goalkeeper, and the Italian is expected to challenge Hugo Lloris for the number one goalkeeper spot. According to the Italian media outlet Sky, if Gollini plays a certain number of matches for Spurs this season, the club will have an option to buy him permanently for £13 million.
In a short message to Tottenham fans via Twitter, Gollini said: “Hello Spurs fans! I am so happy to be here. I can’t wait to see you in the stadium and I hope that we are going to have a magic season.”
Manchester United’s youth system had previously produced Gollini. With 20 Championship appearances in the 2016/17 season for Aston Villa on loan from Verona, he has senior experience in English football. He has made 108 appearances for Atalanta in all competitions since signing for the club on a permanent deal in June 2018. Gollini has been selected ten times to make appearances for Atalanta in the Champions League. In the 2020-21 Serie A season, he played 32 times for Atalanta as the team finished third and finished runners-up in the Coppa Italia. In November 2019, Gollini was introduced to the senior side in a Euro 2020 qualification match against Bosnia & Herzegovina, as a substitute. He follows former England international Joe Hart and current Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in joining the goalkeeping ranks, following Paulo Gazzaniga’s departure from the club on June 30 at end of his contract.
The season opener for Tottenham, who qualified for the Europa Conference League last year, is August 15 against champions Manchester City.
