Tottenham Hotspur have been urged to sign former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez for £10 million, with Tony Cascarino telling manager Roberto De Zerbi that current No. 1 Antonin Kinsky is “not the answer” following the club’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford.
The loss on Saturday marked the worst possible start to the new Premier League season for Spurs, who have spent over £228 million this summer. Goals from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode secured a deserved win for the Bees, with Janelt’s goal coming after Mathias Jensen’s shot from the edge of the box was parried straight to the feet of the German by Kinsky.
Cascarino criticises Kinsky after Brentford blunder
Kinsky, who was infamously subbed off after just 17 minutes of Spurs’ Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid last season, has been promoted to No. 1 goalkeeper, with Guglielmo Vicario loaned out to Juventus. But following this latest blunder, the young Czech star has once again come under stern criticism, not least from former Chelsea striker Cascarino.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Cascarino said: “Watching them yesterday was scary and the goalkeeper Kinsky for the second goal, you cannot… I’m watching goalkeepers who can’t catch the ball. Catching the ball! He could palm it around the post or whatever but it’s, to me, an effort that goalkeepers used to catch.”
Asked if he thought it was the right decision for De Zerbi to stick with Kinsky as his No. 1 goalkeeper, Cascarino replied: “No, I thought they needed a new goalkeeper. They could have got Emiliano Martinez out of Aston Villa because he looks like he could go. I’d have taken him an experienced goalkeeper, a lot more solid. I wasn’t a fan of Vicario. It’s been a tough period for Spurs, but Kinsky doesn’t look like the answer to me.”
Martinez available for £10m after Villa signing
Cascarino added: “We’ve all had bad games. I’ve had plenty of them in my career, but when you do certain things, a simple catch that ends up making it 2-0 for Janelt, who was on the end of that effort that he just blocks basically. He’s basically set up Janelt to just knock it in the back of the net.”
Martinez, who spent eight years at Tottenham’s arch-rivals Arsenal, is looking to leave Villa Park this summer and is almost certain to do so after Unai Emery signed highly-rated Japan keeper Zion Suzuki. The 33-year-old has played a key part in Villa’s success this decade, including last season’s Europa League triumph, and played a huge role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph four years ago.
A transfer to Juventus was on the cards but the Italian giants opted to sign Vicario on loan instead, with Villa holding out for £10 million for the shot-stopper. Tottenham have already signed one goalkeeper this summer, bringing in veteran Martin Dubravka from Burnley to support Kinsky. He could well make his debut on Wednesday night, when Spurs host Charlton in the Carabao Cup.
