Paulo Gazzaniga made 25 appearances in all competitions last season, impressing in goal between October 2019 and January 2020 after Hugo Lloris dislocated his elbow and suffered ligament damage.
The 28-year-old is no longer Lloris’ backup, however, and failed to make the matchday squad in our 1-0 defeat to Everton and 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv this season. But why?
Why haven’t we seen Gazzaniga?
Joe Hart. We signed Gazzaniga from Southampton in 2017 and he’s gone on to make 37 appearances across the board, conceding 43 goals and keeping 10 clean sheets. The Argentine international has provided cover for Lloris and was often given playing time in cup competitions, but he’s not made the squad in 2020/21 as Hart is now our No.2.
Lloris started against Everton and Plodiv while Hart was named on the bench. Despite showing good form last season and being a popular player among supporters, Gazzaniga has been ousted.
Jose really doing Gazzaniga dirty like that? 😤
— William Patterson Whitelaw IV (@whitelaw827) September 13, 2020
I'm not good on keepers but I have a strong preference for Gazzaniga over Hart.
— Chris I’Anson-Miller (@WindyCOYS) September 13, 2020
Don’t think we should be selling gazzaniga personally
— THFC_Jacob (@JacobSimons0) September 17, 2020
Paulo Gazzaniga should stay we can’t trust Joe Heart
— CR7 (@mr_president789) September 17, 2020
Vital Spurs predicted as much when Hart was signed, as Mourinho wouldn’t have a former England No.1 as our third-choice, but it’s a gamble given Hart’s poor form in recent years – 64 goals conceded in 37 games for Torino (August 31, 2016 – June 30, 2017), 42 goals conceded in 23 games for West Ham United (July 18, 2017 – May 31, 2018) and 48 goals conceded in 24 games for Burnley (August 7, 2018 – August 18, 2020).
Has Mourinho betrayed Gazzaniga?
Possibly. Mourinho told Football.London in March that Gazzaniga would be backup to Lloris and not Michel Vorm, but Hart has since overtaken the shot-stopper. Mourinho even admitted it hurt him to drop Gazzaniga when Lloris returned from injury, but now he’s happy to freeze him out entirely? Doesn’t seem right.
Vorm was released over the summer and Hart was signed as his replacement, but Gazzaniga is now our No.3 despite doing very little wrong as a backup. The 28-year-old won’t be content on the sidelines this season and David Ornstein of The Athletic says we’ll entertain bids before the transfer window closes on October 5.
Summary
This is a big gamble by Mourinho, backing a player who’s been inconsistent for the last five years over Gazzaniga who impressed last season. This may come back to haunt him if the Argentine leaves and Lloris picks up an injury.