Football Italia

Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has revealed that he played on for another hour of Tottenham’s recent 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City, despite fracturing his ankle during the first half.

The Spurs stopper has undergone surgery to repair a fractured ankle, which he suffered during the 4-0 win over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

The former Empoli ‘keeper is set for a significant spell on the touchlines as Tottenham gear up for another busy festive period. Ange Postecoglou’s side have nine matches scheduled in December alone.

It has not yet been confirmed how long Vicario will miss.

Vicario played on broken ankle for an hour against Man City

“I played 60 minutes at the Etihad with a broken ankle, giving absolutely everything I had for the team. Unfortunately there was no way around this one, I needed surgery,” Vicario wrote in an Instagram story on Monday evening.

“See you soon on the pitch,” he concluded.

The 4-0 win over Manchester City was Vicario’s 50th consecutive Premier League start. He has played in every league fixture since his €20m move from Empoli last summer.

He also played as a starter for the Italy national team in the recent 3-1 loss against France, replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma, who dropped out of the squad at the last minute with a stomach bug.

Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is set for a spell on the sidelines as Tottenham have confirmed that he has fractured his ankle.

The North Londoners have confirmed that the former Empoli goalkeeper has since undergone surgery to repair the damage to his ankle, and that he will be monitored by club medical staff in due course.

Vicario undergoes surgery on fractured ankle

“We can confirm that Guglielmo Vicario has today undergone surgery for a fracture of his right ankle,” the club wrote in a brief statement.

“Guglielmo will be assessed by our medical staff to determine when he can return to training. We’re all behind you, Vic.”

Vicario’s last outing came in a 4-0 victory away against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday evening.

The 4-0 win over Manchester City was Viacrio’s 50th consecutive Premier League start, having played in every league fixture since his €20m move from Empoli last summer.

The 28-year-old had also lined up as a starter for the Italy national team in the 3-1 loss to France, replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma after the Azzurri no.1 dropped out with a stomach bug.

We can confirm that Guglielmo Vicario has today undergone surgery for a fracture of his right ankle.

Guglielmo will be assessed by our medical staff to determine when he can return to training.

We're all behind you, Vic 🤍 pic.twitter.com/FURltXcb3N

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 25, 2024

Italy duo Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie both had important roles to play in Tottenham’s emphatic 4-0 victory over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday evening.

Italy’s Vicario and Udogie shine in Tottenham 4-0 Man City

Vicario, who did not have the best of games in his most recent Italy outing, was given a rating of 9/10 by local outlet football.london.

The Azzurri shot stopper had a slightly nervy start, fumbling from a corner again, but went on to make a series of vital saves to deny Erling Haaland and Savinho.

Udogie was given a rating of 8/10 for his performance in Tottenham’s thumping victory over Pep Guardiola’s side.

The former Udinese left-back had plenty of defensive work to do, and also provided an extra option in the attacking phases with his energetic runs forwards.

Udogie was replaced by former Genoa loanee Djed Spence on the 90th minute with minor concerns over a potential muscular injury.

The agent of Tottenham Hotspur and former Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin has ruled out the possibility of a loan move away from North London in January, but has hinted that there could still be a transfer possibility for Juventus and Napoli in the summer.

Dragusin, who joined Tottenham from Genoa in a reported €31m deal last January, has been linked with a move back to Serie A in a few weeks’ time, both to Juventus and Genoa.

Dragusin, who came through Juventus’s youth ranks, has only made four Premier League appearances this term, plus three in the Europa League, but has enjoyed more minutes following the recent injury to first-choice centre-back Micky Van de Ven.

Dragusin agent rules out January move, but will ‘re-evaluate in June’

Florin Manea, the player’s agent, has said that it is ‘normal’ to expect transfer rumours given his client’s lack of playing time this term, but has insisted that there is no chance of a move away from Tottenham this January.

He did admit, however, that the situation could change by the summer, which could be of interest to both Juventus and Napoli.

The agent also added that it is an ‘honour’ to be linked with clubs of Juve and Napoli’s stature.

“It’s an honour for Radu to be wanted by teams like Napoli and Juve, but at the moment they are just rumours,” Manea said in an interview with Telecarpi.

“We are focussed on Tottenham, he still has five years left on his contract. It’s not easy to go to a top club and make an impact right away, he’s still 22 years old.

“It’s normal that evaluations will be made if he never plays, but he won’t move in January. We’ll re-evaluate in June.”

England international Eric Dier is the latest name to be linked with a move to join Juventus in January after the long-term knee injury suffered by regular centre-back Gleison Bremer, according to Thursday’s reports.

England international included on Juventus January watchlist

As per Corriere dello Sport, Dier is a centre-back who could be available for a low-cost fee in January. He joined Bayern Munich on an initial loan deal in January 2024, before signing on a one-year permanent deal at the end of his Tottenham contract in the summer.

Dier’s contract runs until the summer of 2025, but after playing just 141 minutes of competitive action so far in 2024-25, he could be allowed to leave in January if an appropriate offer comes in, according to Corriere dello Sport’s report.

The Italian outlet suggests that the 30-year-old could be available for a fee in the region of €5m.

There are plenty of other names who have been linked with a move to Juventus in January, including former Inter centre-back Milan Skriniar at Paris Saint-Germain. Even a loan move could be an expensive operation given that the Slovakian earns somewhere in the region of €11m per season in wages.

Corriere dello Sport suggests that Jakub Kiwior remains an enticing option, but Arsenal could be more reluctant to let him go given the current injury to Italy international Riccardo Calafiori.

There are also some options within Serie A who could interest the Bianconeri, including Nicolo Casale, Diego Coppola and Italy U21 international Lorenzo Pirola, currency in Greece with Olympiakos.

Radu Dragusin has been linked with a move to Juventus in the January transfer window due to lack of playing time at Tottenham, but the Romania international starts his fourth consecutive game for Spurs today.

Former Serie A star Dragusin starts his fourth game in a row for Tottenham today as Spurs host Ipswich Town in North London.

The Romania international, who joined Tottenham from Genoa in the 2024 January transfer window, played the full 90 minutes in the previous three games against Manchester City (EFL Cup), Aston Villa (Premier League), Galatasaray (Europa League).

Dragusin starts fourth consecutive Tottenham game amid Juventus rumours

Tottenham are short of options at the back due to injuries to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, another ex-Genoa and Juventus centre-back. It remains to be seen if Dragusin will continue getting regular playing time once the pair return to action.

Napoli-owned striker Victor Osimhen is raising his profile and probably his price-tag while on loan at Galatasaray, scoring twice in a few minutes against Tottenham in the Europa League this evening.

The Nigeria international was sent to Turkey on loan this summer after transfers to Chelsea and Al Ahli fell apart.

It was hoped that this would allow him to get regular playing time and convince previously hesitant clubs that he was worth somewhere close to the release clause in his contract, which has now been lowered from €130m to €90m in the January window, then €75m in June 2025.

That plan may well be working, because the 25-year-old has four goals and four assists in seven competitive games, combining well with former Napoli striker Dries Mertens.

This evening he added to that tally with two goals in just a few minutes to give Galatasaray a 3-1 Europa League lead over Tottenham Hotspur in Istanbul.

It was not Italy international Guglielmo Vicario in goal this evening, but Fraser Forster.

Osimhen stuns Tottenham Hotspur

Give Victor Osimhen a chance and he will take it 🔥

Galatasaray re-take the lead against Tottenham 💥

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/nXobvZpICu

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2024

What a cross, what a finish 💫

Dries Mertens and Victor Osimhen combine once again to increase Galatasaray’s lead to 3-1 over Tottenham 🤝

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/jfWCs9Krpf

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2024

After Tottenham Hotspur, now there are reports Real Madrid are also targeting Tijjani Reijnders, but Milan intend to lock him down to a new contract.

The Netherlands international has been hugely impressive so far this season and was on target in last night’s 3-1 Champions League victory at the Bernabeu.

There had been suggestions from Football Insider this week that Tottenham were planning a potential swoop in 2025, perhaps as early as January.

Now Calciomercato.it maintain that Real Madrid were also won over by his performance against them and are hoping to get there before Barcelona, Manchester City or Chelsea step up the pursuit too.

Milan holding on to Reijnders

However, Milan have no intention of letting the 26-year-old leave and are already planning how to lock him down to a new contract.

The former AZ Alkmaar talent currently earns only €1.7m per season, but the idea would be to almost double that to €3m with a new deal that runs to June 2030.

If he were to be sold, the absolute minimum price to even sit down and discuss it would be €60m.

According to reports in England, Tottenham Hotspur are targeting Milan and Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, potentially even in January.

Football Insider claim that Spurs manager Ange Postecoglu is eager to strengthen the midfield and see Reijnders as an ideal signing for that role.

They would even try to make an initial approach in January, although even their sources admit the possibility of a sale mid-season is highly unlikely.

Reijnders a key figure for Milan

The 26-year-old was only purchased from AZ Alkmaar in July 2023 at a cost of €20.5m plus bonuses and his value on the transfer market has certainly risen since then.

He has been very versatile for the Rossoneri this season under coach Paulo Fonseca, occasionally moving to a more advanced trequartista role behind the striker.

Reijnders contributed three goals and two assists in 12 games between Serie A and the Champions League.

He also has 19 senior caps for the Netherlands under his belt, where he scored three times and assisted another two.

Tottenham supporters were left frustrated after Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario conceded from yet another set-piece over the weekend in the Premier League, with some calling for the former Empoli goalkeeper to be dropped, despite his side going on to record a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa.

Vicario still struggling from set-pieces at Tottenham

Tottenham fell 1-0 behind after 32 minutes of their Premier League match with Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. Morgan Rogers nodded home from close range after Viacrio failed to claim a routine corner.

Some supporters have suggested that the continued errors from corners and set pieces will ‘cost’ Spurs manager Ange Postecoglu his job, while others claim that the coach’s zonal marking tactic is part of the reason why Vicario is struggling to deal with set-pieces.

Worst keeper in the league vicario . He’s going to cost Ange his job .

— Alandavidkellyart (@Alandavidkelart) November 3, 2024

Ange has to go. How many times will we let a player box out Vicario? My sons 8th grade team knows to move the player.

— Spurs is pain (@rtotten) November 3, 2024

Vicario earned largely positive reviews after his €20m move to Tottenham from Empoli in the summer of 2023, but his ability to claim crosses have been a concern for the majority of his time in North London thus far.

The recent Italy international is currently the sixth-best performing Premier League goalkeeper in 2024-25 according to WhoScored.com’s average ratings.

His score of 6.83 falls just behind Mark Flekken of Brentford, Leicester city’s Mads Hermensen, Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, Arsenal’s David Raya and Nick Pope of Newcastle.