Ange Postecoglou has ruled out Tottenham Hotspur signing a free agent to ease their injury woes after first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario fractured his ankle.
Vicario suffered the injury during the first-half of Tottenham’s 4-0 victory over Manchester City last Saturday but completed the full 90 minutes.
A scan revealed the extent of the damage and the 28-year-old had an operation on Monday. Postecoglou did not give a precise timeline for Vicario’s recovery but said he will be unavailable for months.
Fraser Forster has started three games in all competitions for Spurs this season and will step up in Vicario’s absence.
The 36-year-old has played nearly 150 times in the Premier League but his last appearance was in May 2023. Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman both came through Tottenham’s academy but have never played for the senior side in a competitive fixture.
While Vicario is unavailable, Forster will be expected to play in crucial league games against Chelsea and Liverpool as well as the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester United next month.
Postecoglou was asked before Tottenham’s Europa League tie against Roma on Thursday evening if they would consider signing a goalkeeper who is out of contract.
“That’s not going to happen,” he said. “That’s why we’ve got a squad of players here. I don’t think signing a free agent now is going to help us.
“Fraser I’ve known for a long time and he’s such a strong character within the group and ready to play. Brandon’s improving all the time and Alfie’s been at the club for a while.
Whenever they’ve been asked, in terms of the training capacity they bring, we’re happy with what we’ve got.”
Tottenham could decide to sign a goalkeeper from another club in the January transfer window. Postecoglou said Vicario’s injury has not affected their transfer plans but did not definitively rule out a new goalkeeper.
“We’ve got an injury, and I think any club that gets a significant injury in their goalkeeper assesses where they’re at,” he said. “It’s not just another injury but at the same time, like I said, it is just one injury. We’ve been dealing with setbacks for a while. There’s a lot of work.
“We talk about depleted squads. We had two school boys on the bench at the weekend. We’ve been very shallow for quite a while but because I don’t come up here and highlight it every week, it doesn’t dismiss the fact that we’ve kind of learned to deal with these things, and this is another challenge for us.
“January, we’re always working towards the next window of what the best scenario is for us, and a lot of that will depend on where we’re at from the squad perspective and the game’s perspective. Just this injury doesn’t change any plans for January.”
Tottenham’s next match is against Roma on Thursday and they host Fulham in the league on Sunday.
(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
