Ornstein: Tottenham in negotiations with Hugo Lloris over new contract

Good news this morning if you’re a Hugo Lloris fan (and honestly, who isn’t?). According to David Ornstein, citing his colleague Charlie Eccleshire in The Athletic’s weekly transfer roundup (£), there is a “quiet confidence” that Hugo Lloris will be signing a new contract extension that will keep him at the club, at least in the short term.

Discussions have been ongoing intermittently over the last couple of months between the club and Lloris’ representatives, and are expected to intensify over the coming weeks.

The Spurs captain’s deal is due to expire next summer but until now, it had not been a priority for either party. As of January 1, however, Lloris will be able to speak to foreign clubs about joining them on a free transfer in July.

There is understood to be a desire on both sides for an extension, but nothing has been agreed.

—David Ornstein, The Athletic

Hugo turns 35 this season and normally this would be about the time in a long-tenured keeper’s career when their club starts to look at other options. However, Pierluigi Gollini has disappointed in his Spurs loan thus far this season, Hugo does seem happy at Spurs, and he’s been performing at a high level under Antonio Conte. Though we’ve discussed options about who might replace Hugo a number of times over the past few months, the pickings are pretty slim and the fees pretty high. Extending Hugo for another year or so just seems to make sense. He’s also due a testimonial having been at the club for a decade.

Ornstein does throw out a pretty hilarious tidbit in the same report, however, stating that Hugo came close to leaving Spurs this summer with a year to go on his contract for AS Roma to rejoin his former manager Jose Mourinho. That would’ve been funny, but also pretty sad.

Lloris has thought about a move away and considered his future in the summer, with Roma a possible destination. As The Athletic reported in August, there have been times when he has felt there has been too much reliance on him and Harry Kane to provide leadership and direction in the dressing room.

I am perfectly okay with Hugo extending his stay at the club. You can make a very strong argument that Lloris is the best keeper in Tottenham’s history (come at me, Pat Jennings & Paul Robinson stans), and even in his mid to late 30s he’s a player who can still provide leadership and produce outstanding saves. It’s not a done deal yet, but should it happen I’d be very keen on keeping Tottenham’s club captain around.