Tottenham Hotspur love Hugo Lloris and would like to keep the veteran goalkeeper for a long time yet, according to head coach Antonio Conte.
Lloris arrived to North London back in 2012 from Olympique Lyon for a reported fee of €12.5 million, which means he will have been at the club for a round decade by the time his current contract expires at the end of this season. During that time, he has made 393 appearances in all competitions so far, keeping a clean sheet on 134 occasions. He is yet to win a trophy with the club though, having come very close in 2018-19 when his team was beaten by Liverpool in the Champions League final. He did win the 2018 World Cup with France, however.
The club’s failure to win trophies over the last five or so years has prompted many views that some of their key players might seek to leave in the near future. Harry Kane, arguably their biggest star, indeed wanted to join Manchester City last summer, but the champions’ attempt to take him away were met with fierce resistance from Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who rejected all offers for the England captain without thinking much.
The talks between the club and Lloris’s representatives over a new contract started about a month ago, but there hasn’t been any report of progress (or of any snags either) since.
“For sure [the club want to renew Lloris’s contract],” Conte said.
“We can see the level of the goalkeeper in this circumstance when, for the whole game he doesn’t need to do much but he continued to be focused with the team.
“For me it’s very important because when I speak with him and the team, the connection between the goalkeeper and the team is very important.
“When you play very high with a defensive line, the ‘keeper has to follow the game and not just stay on the line. Hugo today showed that he’s a top goalkeeper.
“For us, he’s very important and I’m sure in a short time the club will find a solution because he loves Tottenham and Tottenham loves him.”
