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Tottenham Hotspur are said to have one of Sunderland’s players on their radar
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Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson as a possible ‘emergency signing’ after a serious injury to first-choice number one Guglielmo Vicario - according to reports.
Vicario has undergone ankle surgery after picking up the injury in Spurs’ 4-0 victory over Manchester City. It was revealed earlier this week that the player would be facing months out. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said of the injury and the possible timeframe for a return: "I guess it was a bit of a shock, first of all. We saw he'd picked up the injury during the game. We saw him at half time, but there was no doubt about him continuing. You digest that and then, post-game, he was sore but, you're kind of like, he's just played 60 minutes with a sore ankle, but we'll tape it up and go again.
"Externally people now realise, it's a testament to him as a person. He's as tough as nails and tough as they come. The fact that he played at that level for 60 minutes with a fractured ankle was quite outstanding. The shock of it wears off and then you have to process that he's going to be missing for a while. Knowing him, he'll push the limits of how long that is. Also, knowing him, you'll get daily updates about that on his Instagram! It's a big blow, and for him personally, because he was having an outstanding season for us and really growing as a leader within the group but we've dealt with setbacks before and we'll deal with this one.
"It's not going to be weeks. It'll be months. He's had his surgery and, you know with surgery, there's certain timelines and because it's Vic... I don't like giving timelines so early in the process as something like that as it puts undue pressure on the player and some expectations. I think once we're past the rehab stage and he starts getting out (onto the training pitch), we'll have a clearer idea."
The blow has saw Spurs turn to the transfer market as they weigh up their options. According to the Sun, Patterson is one of the players they are considering while Burnley stopper James Trafford is another potential option. A number of Premier League clubs have been linked with Patterson this year, including Liverpool and Manchester United. Promotion rivals Sheffield United have also been credited with an interest along with Celtic and Crystal Palace.
Sunderland are said to rate the England Under-21 international at £20m with that fee already made known to other interested clubs. Patterson has been Sunderland’s number one since midway through the club’s final season in League One after he was brought in to replace Ron-Thorben Hoffmann under Alex Neil. He has played 14 Championship fixtures this term, missing four through injury.