ESPN pundit and former footballer Craig Burley has called on Spurs to buy a new goalkeeper after criticising Paulo Gazzaniga’s performance in their 2-1 FA Cup replay win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.
The Championship side gave Spurs a bit of a fright as they threatened to come from two goals down to force extra time after pulling a goal back late on which Burley feels the Argentinian shot-stopper should have done better to prevent.
Gazzaniga could not stop George Saville’s speculative shot from outside of the box finding the bottom corner – and Burley feels he is not a good enough stand-in for Hugo Lloris, who has been out of action since suffering a serious elbow injury in October.
After the game, Burley told ESPN FC: “[Mourinho] needs a goalkeeper. Don’t know what the state of Lloris is at the moment and how long-term that’s going to be, but [Gazzaniga] makes too many mistakes, another one tonight down to his right-hand side – that’s a worry.”
Given the lack of ferocity in the shot which beat him last night, it does not appear too harsh for Burley to describe Gazzaniga’s failure to keep it out as a goalkeeping error. He won’t be solely to blame for a poor record in goal, but Spurs have nevertheless struggled for clean sheets this term with just two in the league all season – and only Norwich City have recorded as few as that.
That said, despite Lloris playing just seven times in the league this year, he has made more errors leading to goals than his teammate, according to official Premier League statistics. However, that would only serve to enhance Burley’s case for Tottenham to seek a new goalkeeper.
Whether that will prompt Mourinho to find one in the transfer window remains to be seen, though their recent loan capture of Gedson Fernandes suggests a goalkeeper has not been top of his priority list, in any case – which could suggest that the goalkeeping situation is just one of a number of squad issues the manager must get to grips with.
Spurs fans, do you think you need a new GK? Let us know what you think below!
