Having arrived in a £11.8m deal from Lyon in the summer of 2012, Hugo Lloris has arguably been one of the best bargains of Tottenham’s recent history.
France’s World Cup winning captain has been an ever-present in the Spurs net since making the switch across the English channel, and considering how transfer fees have become so inflated in the modern age, £11.8m looks like an absolute steal.
And there can be no question that his performances have certainly been of the highest order during the north London side’s period of achieving Champions League qualification on a consistent basis.
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Speaking after Gareth Bale’s move to Real Madrid, Spurs’ former director of football, Damien Comolli, remarked that Lloris also played a huge part in the team’s success that year. He said: “There is a correlation — 100 percent guarantee. here is Gareth (Bale), but there’s also Hugo Lloris. Everybody’s talking about Gareth so he gets the big money move. Hugo is undervalued because he’s a goalkeeper.”
But ultimately, these past couple of seasons have raised some massive questions over Lloris’ abilities. He has become rather less reliable in between the sticks, and has made his fair share of howlers and mishaps that have cost Spurs some big points.
He has made 18 errors that have directly led to goals in the top-flight over the course of his career, but he has made a whopping eight in just the past two-and-a-half seasons.
Just this season when Mauricio Pochettino in charge, one particular moment against Brighton arguably summed up his declining status. A looping, not-so-very dangerous cross from Dan Burn forced a back-pedaling Lloris to completely misjudge the flight of the ball and drop it just a yard from the goal-line, with Neal Maupay on hand to pounce. The Frenchman’s misery was compounded when he was then stretchered off the pitch with a serious injury.
How long can Jose Mourinho continue to place his trust in a goalkeeper who is continuing to have a detrimental effect to Spurs? This summer should see the Portuguese man make the ruthless decision over cutting his losses on the veteran, and finally moving forward with a fresh face in between the posts.
Meanwhile, Spurs must swoop for this powerhouse hailed as a “real leader”.
