Tottenham Hotspur's decision to sign Guglielmo Vicario over Brentford's David Raya has "Daniel Levy all over", claims journalist Paul Brown.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news – what's the latest on Guglielmo Vicario?

Before there were any developments regarding the 26-year-old Italian, Spurs were heavily linked to Brentford's Spanish shot-stopper David Raya, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reporting on June 17th that personal terms between the player and Spurs had been "agreed."

However, on June 22nd, Sky Sports reported that the North London club had verbally agreed a £17.2m fee with Serie A side Empoli for their highly-rated keeper, Vicario.

The Italian international's price is substantially lower than the Bee's asking price for Raya of £40m, which the Lilywhites were 'reluctant' to pay.

The 6 foot 4 titan has spent the last two seasons with Empoli, making 71 appearances for the club after initially joining on loan from Cagliari in 2021.

The West London club might've driven too hard of a bargain for their player, as with just a year left on his contract and no substantial interest from a side other than Tottenham, they risk losing him for free next year.

What has journalist Paul Brown said about Tottenham Hotspur signing Guglielmo Vicario over David Raya?

Brown was honest in his assessment that, for many Spurs fans, this is probably somewhat of a disappointment considering the heavy links to David Raya over the last few weeks.

Speaking to Football FanCast, he said: "To go for someone a little bit more untested in terms of the Premier League and to go for someone who is not going to command such a high transfer fee is a little disappointing I guess, but it is Daniel levy all over."

Brown was quick to point, however, that it could be down to the club having plans to spend big elsewhere on the team, adding: "So I think wherever that ends up being a good thing will depend where else they spend their money this summer and if fans can see the club being ambitious, and if more importantly Harry Kane can see the club being ambitious in other areas. It might not matter so much so let's see."

Will Guglielmo Vicario be a good signing?

The 26-year-old has come off a good season for Empoli, playing 31 times for the side and averaging a match rating in Serie A of 6.85, just slightly lower than Raya's rating of 6.97, per WhoScored.

His underlying numbers, however, don't make for great reading.

According to FBref, who compare players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the one area he stands out is touches, where he sits in the top 9% amongst keepers, which under Ange Postecoglou's attacking brand of football will be essential.

However, he is only in the top 31% of keepers for save percentage, top 41% for goals against and only the top 58% for crosses stopped, all per 90.

However, it can be hard to judge a goalkeeper using statistics alone, so what have people said about him in Italy?

Well, he has got perhaps the best endorsement a keeper could ask for in Italy, the approval of Gianluigi Buffon.

Italy's most famous and beloved shot-stopper of all time hailed Vicario as "extraordinary" in an interview with Radio Sport Anch'io (via Gianluca Dimarzio).

So if he has the backing of Buffon, maybe he'll prove to be an even better signing than Raya ever would've been.