Mauricio Pochettino has raved about Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga ahead of the club’s Champions League clash against PSV Eindhoven.
The 26-year-old is the favourite ahead of Michel Vorm to get the nod to replace the suspended Hugo Lloris in the Spurs starting XI for the Wembley showdown on Tuesday night.
Pochettino has been impressed by the improvement made by the former Southampton player since he signed in the summer of 2017.
“I think his progression was fantastic,” said Pochettino, as quoted by Football London. “Of course the credit is always for the players, but [we have] to give big credit to Toni Jimenez, the goalkeeping coach, who’s helping all the keepers to improve and grow.
“I think after one year and a half with us, I think his progression is fantastic and we were right when we signed him, because we believed and we knew him from Southampton. He’s still young for a keeper and has the potential to be top.”
OPINION
Given that Gazzaniga has only made five appearances for Spurs and was regarded as their third-choice goalkeeper until he was handed a starting spot ahead of Vorm for last Wednesday’s League Cup win over West Ham, it is quite a statement from Pochettino to claim he is destined for the top. The Argentine is not especially young – he turns 27 in January – although goalkeepers are later developers than other players, and needs to make a sustained impact fairly soon at a high level if his manager’s assertion is to be proved correct. Gazzaniga has showed good signs for Spurs this season, with two appearances apiece in Premier League and League Cup matches, and it will have done his confidence the world of good that the club won all four games. Standing at 6ft 4in (source: Transfermarkt), Gazzaniga cuts a commanding presence and he handles high balls with assurance. His reflexes are sharp, but the one thing holding him back up to now has been his distribution, which is below the levels of Vorm and Lloris.