On Sunday Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff watched Espanyol draw 1-1 with Athletic Club Bilbao in Barcelona, and Pau Lopez was on display.
It will have been especially nice for goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez to see the 23 year old in action, having worked with the player closely last season.
Pau was on loan at Tottenham but didn’t manage to get on the pitch in a competitive match. Expected to move to Spurs permanently last summer, Espanyol and the Premier League club couldn’t come to an agreement.
Staying at Espanyol, Pau managed to get in the team at the start of the season thanks to a Diego Lopez injury and he’s been there since, despite the club knowing they could lose him for nothing at the end of the season.
With a contract expiring in June, Pau is an attractive proposition for a number of clubs, and Sergio Gonzalez, former Espanyol manager and now in charge of the Catalan national team, has been speaking to TMW about the player.
The Italian website were obviously keen to get a view on Pau because of Serie A interest, with Juventus and Napoli linked, but Sergio couldn’t help but hint at a possible Tottenham return.
On what he’d recommend for the player, Sergio said: “Pau has to do what he feels inside… certainly going abroad does not intimidate him, as he showed during the loan, despite the fact that he has never played. The Premier League experience was fundamental, Lopez grew up again and Spurs goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez gave him valuable advice.”
The Catalonia manager also said Pau reminds him a little of Gianluigi Buffon, and stated he believes the former Tottenham loanee will, along with Kepa, be the future of Spanish goalkeeping.
He’s going to be free, Tottenham certainly rate him, this one looks as much of a possibility as Sergio suggests. Perhaps the biggest problem for Spurs is that now Pau has progressed further and is playing weekly in La Liga, will he want to be Hugo Lloris’ understudy?
