BBC pundit tears into Hugo Lloris after Tottenham loss

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Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that Hugo Lloris is not a top-class goalkeeper despite what people apparently keep telling him about the Tottenham Hotspur captain following his performance against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Spurs’ direction under Antonio Conte is becoming much more difficult to work out. They were previously flying relatively high despite struggling to find a top gear before the World Cup.

They have since failed to win either of their two games back. And the 2-0 loss against Villa at the weekend saw tempers boil over amongst the fans.

Lloris costs Tottenham with error in Villa loss

Tottenham were poor throughout. But Villa’s opening goal came after an error from Lloris, as he spilled a speculative effort from Douglas Luiz. That allowed Ollie Watkins to regain possession and set up Emi Buendia.

It was a horrible moment for the Spurs captain on his return to the side. And with that, the debate over when Tottenham make the decision to replace him will heat up again.

Certainly, Crooks believes that Conte needs to find his successor sooner rather than later.

“When are Spurs going to get a top-class goalkeeper? One who can save the team points and not cost them matches? People keep telling me he’s won a World Cup so he must be good. France won the World Cup in spite of Hugo Lloris not because of him,” he told BBC Sport.

“On Sunday, the shot by Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz was a routine save for a decent goalkeeper but such is Lloris’ lack of concentration the ball rebounds off his chest and allowed the excellent Buendia a bite at the cherry.”

Lloris has previously been a top-class goalkeeper. And there is no question that he still has the quality to produce those stunning saves and performances.

However, those game-changing moments are becoming much less frequent. And the errors seem to be creeping in more and more.

He will leave a huge void when the time comes to replace the Frenchman. He has been one of the world’s best for much of the last decade. However, Tottenham now need to give serious thought to who will take the gloves from him in one of the coming windows.

Sunday’s display probably confirmed what some Spurs fans have thought for some time.