According to recent reports, Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a summer move for Nick Pope should Hugo Lloris leave at the end of the season.
The report by the Daily Mail claimed that, with the Spurs captain being heavily linked to join Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain this summer, Jose Mourinho’s first choice to replace Lloris would be Burnley shot-stopper Pope.
Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels is also mentioned as a potential target, but a move for the 28-year-old would only be likely to materialise if Spurs were priced out of a move for Pope, for whom Burnley are thought to be demanding a fee of around £30m.
Transfer Tavern Take
Despite Burnley’s lowly league position, Pope has impressed over his 29 appearances for Sean Dyche’s side so far this season, with the 28-year-old helping his side to keep nine clean sheets and making a total of 107 saves, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 7.08 – ranking him as the Clartes’ third-best performer in the top flight.
In fact, comparing this rating to that of Lloris’ average of 6.91 would appear to indicate that, despite the Frenchman plays for a ‘big six’ club, Pope has actually been outperforming the 34-year-old this season.
Indeed, following a 1-1 draw with Liverpool last season, Jurgen Klopp heaped a considerable amount of praise on the England international for his string of fine stops at Anfield, describing Pope as “sensational”.
As such, should PSG make good on their apparent intention to sign the £100,000-per-week Lloris this summer, and should Spurs go on to replace him with Pope, the Frenchman’s departure could actually be something of a blessing in disguise for Mourinho’s team.
In other news: ‘It may be’ – Spurs target drops huge hint on transfer; Mourinho fascinated by ‘remarkable’ star – find out more here!
