CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur sent scouts to watch Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic at the World Cup.
Reports over recent months have indicated that Tottenham are on the lookout for Hugo Lloris’ replacement ahead of next summer’s transfer window (Evening Standard).
Everton’s Jordan Pickford (TuttoMercatoWeb), Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez (GiveMeSport) and Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer (GiveMeSport) have all been mooted as targets for the North London club.
Jacobs has now thrown another name into the mix in Livakovic, who was arguably the standout goalkeeper on show at the World Cup.
The 27-year-old produced some excellent saves throughout the tournament and was Croatia’s hero in their penalty shootout wins over Japan and Brazil.
However, Jacobs revealed that Spurs were not the only ones who sent representatives to run the rule over Livakovic, with the journalist stating that Chelsea and Ajax were also monitoring the Dinamo Zagreb man in Qatar.
He told Chris Cowlin’s YouTube channel: “The final name that I would mention that Tottenham scouted during the World Cup, along with a few other clubs – one of them was Chelsea, one of them was Ajax – is the Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who was unlucky not to be the goalkeeper of the tournament.”
Our View
Livakovic was extremely impressive at the World Cup but it would not be wise to sign the goalkeeper on the evidence of just a few good performances. The fact that he is still in the Croat league at 27 years of age is not a ringing endorsement of the Dinamo Zagreb star’s quality.