Johan Lange gives interesting insight into player research at Spurs

Johan Lange reveals the kind of work he personally put in to assess Antonin Kinsky ahead of the January window and explains what shocked the goalkeeper after he made the switch to Tottenham at the start of last month.

Antonin Kinsky signing has solved Spurs’ issues in goal

With Guglielmo Vicario being out with an injury, Ange Postecoglou had a huge problem in goal as the Italian’s understudy, Fraser Forster, was struggling to cope with the demands of playing out from the back.

That is why the Lilywhites swiftly made a move to sign Kinsky from Slavia Prague in the first few days of the January transfer window, with the 21-year-old hitting the ground running in North London.

The Czech goalkeeper has looked extremely confident and composed on the ball, while also showcasing his excellent shot-stopping ability, and Vicario now knows that he has a battle on his hands for the number one spot.

Johan Lange makes Kinsky transfer admission

Lange has now confirmed that Tottenham had initially identified Kisnky as a summer target, but decided to bring forward the move in light of Vicario’s injury.

The Spurs technical director explained that a huge amount of background research was done on the young goalkeeper’s qualities as well as his personality, so much so that the player himself was very impressed to learn the details the club knew about him.

When asked about the signing of Kinsky, Lange told the club’s official channel: “Yeah, Toni is a goalkeeper that we have followed for quite a long time. He was a target that we were considering for the summer but due to Vicario’s injury, we decided to see if we could move it forward to January.

“He’s a goalkeeper that already, despite his young age, is quite proven. He has been in goal in the Czech divisions for the last few years. For me, he is a very modern goalkeeper and he’s a goalkeeper that suits our style of play.

“It’s not always easy of course. I think here, I think he was very impressed to learn about all the intel that we had about him, how we have followed him for a long time. We know a lot about him also as a character as well.

“Of course, he had a conversation with Ange as well about the most specific style of play. And I think that definitely helped, that he was comfortable making the move mid-season.”

“As I said, we have, we are following him a lot. I think we watched him, I think 10 or 12 times live since, since the summer, and we have very detailed knowledge of him also as a character, so we are very excited that he is now at the club, and of course, will come in and compete.”

Tottenham’s recruitment team have found another gem

Lange and the recruitment department that he heads at Spurs have come in for a lot of unfair criticism over recent months.

The Dane’s track record, especially when it comes to signing young players, has been very impressive at Tottenham. Both Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray have proven extremely astute additions, while there is no reason to think Wilson Odobert will also not prove a hit.

While it is still early days for Kinsky, he looks like a real talent and could potentially be a fantastic servant for the club for over a decade.

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