Juventus Signs Guglielmo Vicario After Emiliano Martinez Talks Fail
Juventus have finally shut the door on Emiliano Martinez and kicked another one wide open.
After weeks of haggling with Aston Villa and getting nowhere near a compromise on the Premier League club’s firm €15m (£12.8m) valuation, the Turin hierarchy walked away and turned decisively toward a different target: Guglielmo Vicario.
From stalemate in Birmingham to a deal in London
Once the Martinez talks collapsed, Juventus didn’t linger. According to The Athletic, they wrapped up a total agreement with Tottenham on Monday for Vicario, bringing the 29-year-old back to Serie A just a year after his move in the opposite direction.
The structure of the deal underlines how Juventus want to reshape without over-committing. As reported by Tuttosport, Vicario arrives on loan with a non-mandatory €10.5m (£9m) purchase option. No obligation, no financial trap. The Bianconeri get a full season to judge whether he can be their long-term No 1 before deciding whether to buy.
For a club juggling an overhaul and a budget, it’s a calculated, low-risk play.
Tottenham reset under De Zerbi
In north London, Vicario’s exit is more than a routine outgoing. It signals a shift in the goalkeeping hierarchy under Roberto De Zerbi, who has already pinpointed Antonin Kinsky as his preferred starter.
Vicario’s lone full season at Spurs was anything but dull. He arrived from Empoli for around €20m, stepped straight into the void left by Hugo Lloris and, for a spell, looked every inch the modern Premier League goalkeeper. Aggressive, proactive, comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Then came the bumps. A handful of high-profile errors crept into his game. Hernia surgery in March halted his momentum, and with it went his starting place. By the end of the campaign, his future felt increasingly detached from Tottenham’s next chapter.
Now that chapter closes. Another opens in Turin.
Shockwaves in the Juve goal
Vicario’s arrival doesn’t just add depth; it redraws the internal map at Juventus.
He is coming to start. That is the clear intention. And that reality throws Michele Di Gregorio’s position into doubt almost overnight. According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus have already offered Di Gregorio to Marseille and other European clubs on loan, a signal that the club is ready to clear the path for their new man.
The dressing room knows what that means. A new voice in the six-yard box. A new personality behind the back four. A new reference point for a defence already in transition.
Spalletti’s blueprint in goal
Luciano Spalletti has been explicit in the type of goalkeeper he wants: someone who can play, not just save.
Vicario fits that profile. During his early months at Tottenham he regularly stepped high, demanded the ball and helped build from the back, traits that caught the eye of data departments and traditional scouts alike. That confidence waned as his form dipped late in his Spurs spell, but Juventus are betting that a return to the tactical rhythms of Serie A will suit him far better.
In Italy, the game slows just enough for a goalkeeper to think, to orchestrate, to direct. That is the environment Juventus believe can pull Vicario back toward his best version.
A new backbone for the Old Lady
This move is not an isolated tweak. It is another piece in a broader reconstruction.
Jhon Lucumi has already arrived from Bologna to reinforce the defence. Now Vicario steps in behind him, part of a reimagined spine designed to carry Juventus into a new cycle under Spalletti.
A year ago, Vicario was billed as the heir to Hugo Lloris in England. Today, he returns home with something sharper than a reputation: a point to prove.
If he takes this chance, Juventus won’t hesitate to turn that option into a permanent deal. If he doesn’t, they walk away.
The margins for a modern No 1 have rarely been thinner.
