Tottenham: 'Immensely popular' £9m star could make Hotspur Way exit

Pierluigi Gollini being “immensely popular” at Tottenham might not be enough to see him stay at the club beyond this season, according to Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge.

The £9m-rated goalkeeper is on a season-long loan spell from Atalanta, but the Italy international is expected to return to the Serie A club at the end of the campaign.

When Gollini made the loan switch last summer, Spurs would have been hoping they’d finally found a solid backup option for Hugo Lloris.

In recent years, the likes of Michel Vorm and Joe Hart have struggled to provide competition for the Frenchman, which has proved costly in various cup and European games.

But Gollini has followed suit with those before him and has been restricted to just 10 first-team appearances.

His last game saw him handed a shock start against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, but he made an error which allowed Antonio Rudiger to head the Blues in front and all-but seal their place in the final.

As a result, this is set to be Gollini’s first and last season at Tottenham, with Antonio Conte’s side hoping to sign West Brom stopper Sam Johnstone as a replacement.

When asked about Gollini’s future, he told GIVEMESPORT: “What I do know about Gollini is that he’s immensely popular in the squad, but that shouldn’t make any difference when you’re trying to build a better squad.

“I don’t know whether that will make him stay, but if Tottenham are in the Europa League next season and Lloris doesn’t play in any of the group matches you want a good goalkeeper, and for me, I’ve only seen him four of five times, but Gollini has shown nothing to suggest that he’s anywhere near the level of Hugo Lloris.”

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