Jamie O’Hara backs Spurs goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga to impress

Add as preferred source on Google

Jamie O’Hara has told The Debate on Sky Sports (broadcast on 7/10; 22:37) that he is extremely confident that Paulo Gazzaniga can fill the goalkeeper void for Tottenham Hotspur while Hugo Lloris is injured.

Spurs confirmed on their official website this week that Lloris is not expected to return to training this year after dislocating his elbow in the weekend defeat at Brighton.

Gazzaniga came on for the Frenchman at the Amex Stadium. And he is now preparing for his first lengthy run between the sticks since arriving at Tottenham in 2017.

But, while some Spurs fans may be concerned about Gazzaniga stepping up in Lloris’s absence, O’Hara insisted that the 27-year-old is good enough to replace the club captain.

“Yeah I like him,” he told The Debate. “Lloris is a fantastic servant for the football club. He’s been the captain. But for me, Gazzaniga can step into that spot. He’s good on the ball, he plays. Lloris does make mistakes so I’m not worried about the goalkeeping position.”

TBR’s View

Gazzaniga needs to look at these coming months as a real opportunity. It is going to take something special for the Argentinian to hold onto the number one spot once Lloris is back fit, but the door is definitely open.

As O’Hara notes, Lloris has not been faultless for some time. He deserves to be mentioned alongside the best goalkeepers in the Premier League era, but there have been errors.

Gazzaniga has a lot of work to do to relegate Lloris to the bench upon his return. But he has shown that he can produce man of the match displays, so it is not unthinkable to imagine Lloris spending time out of the side once he is back fit next year.