Guglielmo Vicario Juventus loan agreed as Tottenham accept option-to-buy deal for Italy keeper

Tottenham Hotspur have accepted Juventus’s loan offer for Guglielmo Vicario, and the Italy goalkeeper is heading home. The agreement between the clubs includes an £8.6m option for the Turin side to buy him outright, although no obligation is attached to it.

Vicario, 29, is expected to travel to Turin to complete the formalities, ending a three-year stay in north London that brought 117 appearances after his £17.2m arrival from Empoli in the summer of 2023.

Why Vicario is leaving Tottenham

The decision flows from the goalkeeping pecking order established by Roberto De Zerbi. The Spurs head coach promoted Antonin Kinsky into the side last season and has made clear the Czech will remain his first-choice for the coming campaign. Martin Dubravka, a free-agent arrival from Burnley earlier this summer, provides the experienced cover, leaving Vicario surplus to requirements at the top of the queue.

Juventus turn to Plan B after Martinez pursuit collapses

Juventus had made Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez their primary target, but that chase has collapsed. Villa, with the Argentina international carrying an injured finger and currently unavailable for selection, are close to completing a deal for Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki instead. That left the Bianconeri to turn to Vicario, a keeper they know well from his years in Italian football.

For the 29-year-old it is a homecoming. Vicario came through at Udinese and served loans at Venezia and Cagliari before establishing himself at Empoli, where his shot-stopping caught the eye of Premier League scouts. His Spurs career began brightly enough, an instant fixture between the posts in place of Hugo Lloris, but the appointment of De Zerbi changed the landscape and the promotion of Kinsky last term effectively ended his run in the side.

What the deal means for both clubs

The structure suits all parties. Juventus get an experienced international keeper on loan without committing to a permanent fee, with the £8.6m option a modest price for a player of Vicario’s pedigree should he impress. Tottenham, meanwhile, trim a significant wage from a squad in the middle of the most expensive summer in the club’s history.

The scale of that rebuild is remarkable. Spurs have signed six players, a club-record outlay, and remain in the market for two further attacking additions. The departures have been equally dramatic: captain Cristian Romero has left, England full-back Djed Spence has joined Inter, and Yves Bissouma has been moved on, with Vicario now following them out of the door.

For the player, the appeal is obvious. Five caps into his Italy career since a debut in 2024, he needs minutes to hold his place in the international picture, and a return to Serie A offers exactly that. For Spurs, the move resolves a squad imbalance of their own making: with Dubravka signed as cover, they no longer need three senior goalkeepers on the books.

Whether the loan becomes permanent will depend on Vicario’s form in Turin. At £8.6m, Juventus are getting the chance to test-drive a proven top-level keeper at a fraction of the fee Spurs paid Empoli three years ago. If he rediscovers the form that made him one of the Premier League’s most dependable goalkeepers, the option will look a bargain. If not, he returns to a Tottenham squad that will have moved on without him.

BBC Sport’s report on Vicario’s expected return to Serie A has the full background to the move.