Vicario: 'This was my dream, I'd have signed in blood to come to Tottenham'

Anyone sitting down to compile a list of last summer's best signings might want to start with the name of Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham seemed to be taking a chance on a goalkeeper from Empoli, who was beyond his mid-20s with no international honours and no experience of European football.

At £16.3million, Vicario signed from Empoli at about half the price of their initial target David Raya, and more than £30m less than Andre Onana, who joined Manchester United from Inter Milan.

Something about the deal seemed too good to be true. Where was the catch? Well, here we are midway through his first Premier League season and if there is one, nobody has found it.

Vicario has been simply exceptional in every sense. He has kept a good goal in an old-fashioned sense — clean handling, fine saves, composed with a strong presence and good judgment — and been at ease with the ball at his feet as the modern game demands.

At 27, he has been a positive addition to the dressing room and behaved on and off the pitch like someone grateful for the chance and determined not to waste it.

'This is my dream,' said Vicario, ahead of today's trip to Manchester United. 'I said from day one I want to live this dream day by day, make it real and it's real now.

'I said I would have walked here if needed and signed in my own blood. It was my way of saying it was an opportunity I couldn't miss.'

As with every step of his career, Vicario adjusted and met the challenge, and peppers this interview with frequent promises to keep working hard and listening to Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou.

'Maybe you are nervous because you face situations you never faced,' he said as he considered his progress. 'Maybe you feel some pressure. Maybe you are not sure about yourself but