Mauricio on Paulo's progress and options for PSV
Mon 05 November 2018, 15:37|
Tottenham Hotspur
'Remember, remember the 5th of November' may not be a rhyme that Paulo Gazzaniga is overly familiar with but the date is as significant to our Argentine goalkeeper as Guy Fawkes Day is in English folklore.
It was exactly one year ago today that Paulo ‘exploded’ onto the scene with a man-of-the-match performance on his Spurs debut, making a string of vital saves to earn us a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace.
He has not played a competitive game for us at Wembley Stadium since but that could change on Tuesday evening when we face PSV Eindhoven (8pm UK) in the Champions League without the suspended Hugo Lloris.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, manager Mauricio Pochettino took the chance to sing Paulo’s praises.
“After one-and-a-half years with us, I think Paulo’s progression is fantastic,” he said. “We were right when we signed him because we believed in him and we knew him from Southampton. I think he is still young for a keeper but he has the potential to get to the top.
“Credit always goes to the player but he also has to give a big credit to Tony Jimenez, our goalkeeping coach, who is helping all the goalkeepers here to improve and grow.”
The 26-year-old has made four appearances for us this season, finishing on the winning side every time, with his stand-out performance coming in the Carabao Cup at Stadium MK when he saved two penalties in our shoot-out success against Watford.
Those displays have given Mauricio a selection headache as he considers which of his goalkeepers to turn to in Hugo’s absence.
“We have three options in goal - Michel Vorm, Paulo Gazzaniga and Alfie Whiteman,” he said before the game against PSV. “I’ve still not decided who is going to play.
“We try to be fair in our selection. We talk about form and performance and my decision is to choose the best player who is going to affect the team. In my mind, there is not a number one, two and three. Football is dynamic and things change a lot. We always try to be fair to them with our decisions.”
