Tottenham Hotspur have signed goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a €16million (£13.3m; $16.5m) deal.
Our writers — experts in transfers, tactics, data and football finance — have come together to rate January’s senior Premier League transfers. This is a continuation of the project we launched last summer, but we have also made some significant tweaks to how we assess each deal.
Gone are the five scores out of 100, and in their place are 10 ratings of 50. This should allow for much more nuance to be reflected in the analysis and, importantly, much more variability in the overall figure each transfer ends up with. Follow the link below for more background on the changes.
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Tactical fit — 42/50
Ange Postecoglou has an unwavering desire to play out from the back, and Antonin Kinsky will help facilitate that in Guglielmo Vicario’s absence.
Kinsky is part of the new breed of goalkeepers who instinctively look to play short passes from goal kicks and can receive the ball and make intelligent decisions under pressure to beat the opposition press.
As the graphic below demonstrates, Kinsky’s most frequently played pass for Slavia Prague in the Europa League this season — albeit a small sample size — was a square ball to the left-sided central defender. It also indicates Kinsky likes to play more direct clipped passes over the opposition’s attacking line and into the second third of the pitch, but he rarely plays long balls.
And he’s not just willing to play under pressure, he’s pretty good at it too. Across six matches in Europe this season, Kinsky averaged an 84.1 per cent success rate, including 90 per cent in a 2-0 win over Ludogorets of Bulgaria and 92 per cent in a 1-0 away defeat to Spain’s Athletic Club. What’s most impressive is that Kinsky has only misplaced one short or medium-length pass out of 140.
Injury record — 45/50
A major mark of approval for Kinsky is his perfect injury record.
Since making his professional debut for Dukla Prague in the Czech Republic’s second division in 2020, he has consistently been fit and available for selection and has been an ever-present for Slavia Prague in the league.
Market value — 38/50
For a club of Tottenham’s size and spending power, a €16million deal for a 21-year-old with significant potential represents low-risk business.
With Vicario unlikely to be back in action until late February or early March, Spurs are effectively signing a first-choice goalkeeper for the short term. After the Italy international returns, Kinsky will likely drop to the bench unless he impresses enough to keep his place ahead of his more senior team-mate, but there are long-term benefits too.
If he makes good on his highly-touted potential, the initial outlay will be looked back on as a bargain.
Contract rationale – 40/50
Kinsky has signed a contract until 2031, allowing him the time to flourish from a top prospect to a potential No 1.
The long-term nature of the deal represents a significant commitment to the Czech Under-21 international, indicating they believe in his chances to become a starter or a high-value asset they can move on in the future. Injury and stunted development make any long-term deal a risk, but it’s a calculated one given his age, potential and impressive injury record.
Recent form – 37/50
Slavia Prague sit at the top of the Czech first division with 50 points from 19 matches, and Kinsky is a big reason why.
Across those 19 games, Kinsky has conceded just seven goals and kept 12 clean sheets. His impressive record is largely due to an excellent defence by Czech standards, as well as an 80 per cent save percentage. For context, no Premier League goalkeeper has higher than 78.7 per cent this season.
His form in the Europa League has not been as strong, conceding seven goals from six matches with a save percentage of 62.5 per cent. However, two excellent saves against Eintracht Frankfurt forwards Omar Marmoush and Hugo Etikite in front of Spurs scouts in a 1-0 defeat will provide confidence that he can produce against more elite competition.
Gap-filling – 45/50
There’s been a gap in quality between the sticks at Spurs since Vicario’s injury, and Kinsky provides a much-needed potential relief to that problem.
Given Kinsky is at the beginning of his career and has yet to face Premier League-level competition consistently, there’s no guarantee he will be an immediate solution. Still, he is a significant improvement on Fraser Forster (who is out of contract at the end of the season) and Brandon Austin (who made his first-team debut for Spurs on Sunday) — particularly in terms of distribution — and provides competition for Vicario with the attributes that Postecoglou demands from his goalkeeper.
Excitement factor – 30/50
Kinsky does not address all of Spurs’ current issues, but there should be excitement within the fanbase that he potentially provides a solution to one of their most glaring.
A backup goalkeeper who had likely not been on the radar of most of the Spurs faithful before the signing was announced will never inspire the kind of reaction that Dominic Solanke did in the summer, but he’s a player who is extremely highly rated in his home country and could help to elevate Postecoglou’s side in the short and long term.
Future-proofing – 37/50
While the transfer fee is not small for a player with such little top-level experience, the opportunity to sign a highly-rated prospect from a club in European competition does not often come cheap.
Still, if Kinsky flourishes into a Premier League and international-level goalkeeper, there is more than enough room for Spurs to make a significant profit should he ever leave.
Rival impact – 25/50
While it’s unlikely executives at Premier League clubs are losing sleep over this deal, it represents a young goalkeeper with the skills to succeed at the top level being taken off the market.
A look across north London, where on-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto is warming the bench for David Raya, provides one example of several unresolved backup goalkeeper situations in the Premier League. What’s even better, however, is that many believe Kinsky will do more than deputise for Vicario; he will potentially offer serious long-term competition for his shirt.
Marketability – 10/50
Despite his exciting potential, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium megastore is unlikely to sell many Kinsky shirts this week. Still, it might be fun to keep an eye out for Czech supporters flying over from Prague to watch the potential heir to Petr Cech’s goalkeeping throne in the coming matches.
Overall rating — 349/500
(Top photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)