Gold: Tottenham’s keeper shortlist includes Maignan, Raya, Sanchez, Mamardashvili

Tottenham Hotspur are searching for a new first choice goalkeeper for the first time in a long time. Hugo Lloris is Spurs’ club captain and a steadfast presence between the sticks at Tottenham for a decade now, but at 36, his professional career is winding down and the odds that he will be allowed to gracefully retire to a quiet farm upstate (or an average Ligue 1 team) is becoming more and more likely.

But until recently we haven’t heard a lot about who might be replacing him as Tottenham’s No. 1. Today, Alasdair Gold has a report in Football.London with a few players that are on Managing Director of Football Fabio Paratici’s shortlist. And the names revealed to be on that list... well, the list is pretty darned good.

• Mike Maignan (27, AC Milan)
• David Raya (27, Brentford)
• Robert Sanchez (25, Brighton)
• Giorgi Mamardashvili (22, Valencia)

Maignan is France’s current #1 after Hugo’s retirement from international duty and has been a coveted keeper for a long time, and one we’ve been tracking as a potential Hugo replacement on this blog for a couple years now. He’s a solid keeper but has been suffering with a long-term calf injury and hasn’t played since this past September.

Premier League fans will recognize Raya and Sanchez, as they’re both having excellent seasons at their respective clubs and are also both veterans of English football which makes them attractive targets. Sanchez in particular is the same age as Hugo when we signed him in 2012 and if he excels could potentially be at Spurs for a decade.

And even younger is Mamardashvili, who at age 22 is already Valencia’s starting keeper since 2021, and has six caps for the Georgia national team. Mamardashvili would be a bit of a punt considering his age, but the fact that he’s already an established starter for an established club playing in a top level league AND a full international makes him an intriguing option. He’s younger than Spurs academy grads Alfie Whiteman and Brandon Austin, but he’s got a ton of buzz right now.

Gold also mentions Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez, Everton and England keeper Jordan Pickford, and United’s Dean Henderson as keeper targets that Spurs have looked at in the past; they’re all likely still on the list.

There aren’t any indications on how much any of these keepers might cost, but regardless of the player it’s likely to be substantial. Quite honestly, I’d be very satisfied with any of the keepers on this list, which Gold admits is not exhaustive. It implies that Spurs’ next keeper the subject of Paratici’s “scattergun” approach to recruitment, meaning we’re likely going to be linked with any number of additional keeper targets before all is said and done.