Tottenham Hotspur have announced the signing of goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini from Italian side Atalanta on a season-long loan, with an option to make the transfer permanent.
Follow Us
Tottenham Hotspur have announced the signing of goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini from Italian side Atalanta on a season-long loan. The English giants further enjoy an option to make the transfer permanent. Pierluigi played his youth football at Verona and Manchester United. He further went on to return to Verona to make his Serie A debut in September 2014. The goalkeeper played 27 times the next season which was the 2015/16 edition. This prompted a move to Aston Villa in July 2016.
The 26-year-old born in Bologna, played 20 times for Villa in the Championship in 2016/17. He was coincidentally on the bench when Tottenham Hotspur beat Aston Villa 2-0 in the FA Cup third round at White Hart Lane in January 2017. Gollini moved back to Italy initially on loan at Atalanta later that month. The move was soon made permanent in June 2018. The goalkeeper has since played 108 times in all competitions for the Bergamo club, including 10 appearances in the Champions League in 2019/20 and 2020/21. Gollini played 32 times last season as Atalanta finished third in Serie A and were runners-up in the Coppa Italia.
The goalkeeper has been capped at Under-18, 19, 20 and 21 levels for Italy. Gollini made his senior debut off the bench in a Euro 2020 qualifying match against Bosnia & Herzegovina in November 2019. The deal is subject to international clearance.
Gollini’s transfer comes on the back of the announcement of a new four-year contract for Son, which will run until 2025. The South Korea captain has scored 107 goals and claimed 64 assists in 280 appearances in all competitions since joining the club from Bayer Leverkusen in August, 2015.
The 29-year-old wrote his name into club folklore by scoring the first Premier League and first Champions League goals at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the space of a week in April 2019. This was further followed by a brace in the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester City, with the club soon qualifying for its maiden Champions League final.
“It was already a big honour to play here for six years, the Club have showed me massive, massive respect and obviously I’m very happy to be here. It’s like home, especially with the fans, the players, the staff. There was no decision. It was easy. I’m so happy to be here and will be so glad to see the fans again soon,” said Son as quoted by Tottenham Hotspur’s official website.
Fabio Paratici, the managing director of the Premier League club expressed his happiness after the long-term contract was agreed upon.
“We are pleased to have agreed a new long-term contract with Heung-Min Son as we move towards the start of a new season and a new chapter for the Club with Nuno Espirito Santo. Everyone can see the real positive impact he has on the Club, both on and off the field, and we are delighted that he will play a part in what we are trying to achieve in the coming years,” he stated.
