Of the 15 goalkeepers signed by Premier League clubs last summer, none has taken to English football quite so flawlessly and seamlessly as Guglielmo Vicario.
For all the talk of Andre Onana’s confidence crisis or David Raya and Robert Sanchez’s race to the bottom in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal, the brilliance of Tottenham Hotspur’s unproblematic king has been criminally ignored.
Signed from Serie A side Empoli for £17.2m, Vicario has the highest save percentage in the Premier League – 84.2. That puts him nearly eight per cent ahead of Alisson in second (76.3), and well clear of Bernd Leno and Raya (75) in joint-third.
And it’s not that he’s only making simple saves, as his reflex effort to stop Joao Palhinha’s early header against Fulham on Monday night showed. He also leads the way among Premier League keepers on the disparity between expected goals conceded – based on the quality of the shots a goalkeeper faces – and the actual number.
He’s being asked to take risks and play with confidence, and he’s managing it. Vicario has made the second-most defensive actions of any keeper outside his penalty area – 21, behind Nick Pope’s 24. He also distributes the ball from higher up the pitch than any keeper other than Pope (19.7m), although his kicking is relatively conservative. His distribution isn’t Ederson-esque, but his manager, Ange Postecoglou, does not need it to be.
When he speaks, with fluent English, Vicario is mature beyond his 27 years, with an impressive tactical understanding and ability for introspection.
Alongside this, last year he took in two Ukrainian refugees, a mother and her 11-year-old son, who still live in his Italian home. If Postecoglou exudes avuncular nice-guy charm, Vicario is of a similar ilk.
“I just really liked Vic from the start in terms of the characteristics he has as a goalkeeper – his agility, his demeanour, his character,” Postecoglou said. “He’s just such an infectious personality.
“If you look at his career, he hasn’t had a long time at the top level. I like players who have worked their way up from a low level very quickly because it shows that they adapt very quickly but also that they’re coachable.
“He’s been a really strong influence on the field in the big moments when we’ve needed him and he comes in every day and wants to improve.”
Beyond his clear statistical dominance, he has been helped by the instant chemistry between central defensive duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven ahead of him.
And while the centre-back pairing have received the most plaudits, the full-backs have been similarly impressive.
Pedro Porro has made more blocks (23) than any other defender. Only one Spurs defender – sUdogie – has made a mistake leading to a shot all season, let alone a goal. This is undoubtedly helped by the same back five starting the last eight league games.
But Spurs lack depth. Vicario has said former captain Hugo Lloris “helps me a lot during training”, but his direct replacement is Fraser Forster. Against Fulham, Spurs’ quality dropped markedly once they made their five substitutions, with Vicario forced to make a crucial save from Raul Jimenez.
Emerson Royal was the only defender to be subbed on, with outcast Eric Dier and 18-year-old Ashley Phillips the other options.
But Vicario and the rest of his starting corps have taken a Spurs defence which conceded their most goals in a league season for 30 years and transformed it into the joint-second strongest in the division.
Quietly, the Italian has been the form goalkeeper during his first nine games.