Tottenham Hotspur have found their Guglielmo Vicario replacement - and he's a Leeds United reject: report

Tottenham Hotspur’s search for a new first-choice goalkeeper has taken an unexpected turn toward a player once deemed surplus by Leeds United, according to emerging reports from Italy. With doubts swirling over Guglielmo Vicario’s long-term future in North London, Spurs scouts have identified Cagliari’s Elia Caprile as the leading candidate to succeed the 29-year-old, who joined from Empoli for £17 million in the summer of 2023.

Vicario’s second season in the Premier League has been punctuated by high-profile errors and, most notably, a surprise benching by interim manager Igor Tudor for the Champions League last-16 first-leg trip to Atlético Madrid. Although teenage deputy Antonin Kinsky endured a nightmare quarter-hour in which he conceded three times before being substituted after 17 minutes, the episode intensified speculation that Tottenham could move on from Vicario at season’s end. Juventus and Inter have already been credited with interest in bringing the Italian international back to Serie A.

Enter Caprile, a 24-year-old keeper whose career arc has taken him from Leeds United’s academy to the fringes of the senior Italy squad within four years. Signed from Chievo by Leeds in January 2020, Caprile never made a first-team appearance for the Whites but featured on the bench eight times and became a regular for the club’s under-23s. He returned to his homeland in 2023 with Bari, earned promotion-chasing plaudits in Serie B, and secured a transfer to Napoli last summer before immediately heading to Cagliari on a temporary deal.

Caprile’s form on Sardinia has been impossible to ignore. Journalist Nicolo Schira reports that Tottenham have dispatched scouts to run the rule over the 6ft 3in stopper, while Aston Villa—bracing for potential upheaval around World Cup winner Emi Martínez—have also monitored his recent performances. Caprile’s burgeoning reputation was rubber-stamped by Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso, who drafted him into the Azzurri’s World Cup play-off squad after Vicario withdrew to undergo hernia surgery. Club medics expect Vicario to return “within the next month,” but the national-team snub underlines how quickly Caprile’s stock has risen.

Transfermarkt values Caprile at €15 million, a fee that would rise further given his contract at Cagliari runs until 2029. Tottenham’s willingness to meet such a valuation may hinge on which division they are playing in next season; the club’s European qualification hopes remain delicately poised. Yet Caprile’s prior experience of English football, coupled with his age and upward trajectory, ticks multiple boxes for a Spurs hierarchy intent on refreshing a squad that has underachieved for much of the campaign.

For a player once released by Leeds without a senior minute to his name, a potential leap to the Premier League represents a remarkable turnaround. Whether Tottenham firm up their interest—and whether Caprile can truly fill the gloves of a goalkeeper signed for eight figures only two summers ago—will be one of the summer window’s more intriguing storylines.