Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Fraser Forster has heaped praise on an arguably unsung Spurs player, saying he's been training brilliantly behind the scenes.
Spurs player ratings 2023/2024
Ange Postecoglou's table-topping Spurs side have quite simply blown away on-lookers. Some had them finishing in the bottom half after star striker Harry Kane quit for Bayern Munich in the summer window, but things haven't quite gone in that direction. Instead, the north Londoners find themselves unbeaten over their opening eight Premier League matches, winning six of them, and standing out as the division's most in-form side on paper.
Few could've envisaged this sensational start to the new campaign, especially after Kane's departure. A few star players have gone on to catch the eye under Postecoglou, too, perhaps most notably Yves Bissouma, Son Heung-min, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison. The latter has already bagged two goals and five assists in a Spurs shirt since arriving from Leicester City for £40 million.
“I always rated him [Maddison],” Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle told Premier League Productions (09/10/23 at 5:30 pm).
“I felt Tottenham three years should have gone and got him with Harry (Kane) in the team. I always felt that he was ahead of players who were getting ahead of him in the England squad when he was at Leicester. With better players around him, and certainly in that England team, I think you would see the best and that’s coming out of him now. He has matured. He’s got three or four years where he is going to be at his peak.”
The aforementioned have quite simply starred in a Lilywhites jersey, but one lesser-mentioned star of their starting eleven has been goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Guglielmo Vicario praise
The Italian, who was brilliant for Empoli last season, attracted Tottenham's interest over the summer transfer window as chairman Daniel Levy sought to bring him in for around £17.2 million. Since his arrival, Vicario has usurped long-serving number one Hugo Lloris as Tottenham's first choice keeper, going on to make some crucial saves against the likes of Luton most recently.
Back-up Spurs keeper Forster, speaking to Tottenham's Off The Shelf podcast, heaped praise on his counterpart and revealed that Vicario is training brilliantly.
"I think as you see this season, I think every game, even as a team the way we want to play, we look better and better at what we want to do because those relationships are coming and can only get stronger and better as the season goes on," said Forster, later praising Vicario.
"He's been brilliant," admitted the Tottenham goalkeeper. "I think his performances in the games have been very good and he's made big saves. [It's] not easy coming to a new club, new country. His English is very good which has really helped him.
"One of my mates from Celtic actually played with him at Empoli and he's raved about him for ages, so as soon as he was coming here he said he's a very, very good goalkeeper. Top guy. He's been brilliant in the games, he's been brilliant around the place, trains well and works hard, so it's a good start for him."