Pierluigi Gollini: Things to know about the Italian goalkeeper

Having spent months making a fool of themselves in their desperate search for a new manager, Tottenham now not only have a new boss at the helm but they're also making actual real signings!

Just hours after their pursuit of Bryan Gil became public knowledge, they're now said to be on the verge of securing a loan deal for Atalanta shot-stopper Pierluigi Gollini.

With Hugo Lloris' future still up in the air and Paulo Gazzaniga's departure already confirmed, Nuno Espirito Santo seems to have made signing a goalkeeper one of his top priorities goalkeeper, but who is the man looking like being Nuno's first signing at the club?

90min have provided you with a rundown of everything you need to know about the Atalanta goalkeeper...

1. He's a rapper

Sorry what?

Yep, that's right, if he offers absolutely nothing else to Spurs over the next year at least he'll be able to provide the team with some half-time entertainment.

On the same day he signed a permanent deal with Atalanta in 2018, Gollini released a rap single entitled 'Rapper With Gloves', using the pseudonym 'Gollorius' and donating all of the proceeds to charity.

The single even made it into the Top 100, so making him stand on a table and sing as part of his initiation at the club is going to seem a bit pointless now.

2. Spent time in Manchester United's academy

Even if you're not a massive follower of Serie A you might have heard the name 'Pierluigi Gollini' before.

Having spent time in the Fiorentina academy, the Italian goalkeeper was snapped up by Manchester United at just 17 years of age and spent two years in the Red Devils' youth setup.

Gollini moved to Old Trafford just as David de Gea was starting to find his feet in England and so first-team opportunities never really looked like materialising.

After two years he moved back to Italy to join Hellas Verona having failed to make a senior appearance for United.

3. Had two years at Aston Villa

You may not recall Gollini's time with United but you should maybe remember him from his spell with Aston Villa.

The goalkeeper was signed by countryman Roberto Di Matteo in 2016, though Di Matteo's sacking just a few months later saw Gollini fall out of favour with new boss Steve Bruce.

The Italian was shipped out on loan to Atalanta in January after failing to really impress during his short stay in the Championship, and having spent another year on loan at La Dea the following year he eventually notched a permanent move to the club in 2018.

4. Capped once by Italy

Gollini has represented Italy at nearly every youth level up to the Under-21s, yet so far he's only been handed one cap for the senior side.

To be fair, with a world-class goalkeeper like Gianluigi Donnarumma ahead of him in the pecking order he's probably already admitted defeat, and it was the Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper who made way as Gollini was handed his solitary cap by Roberto Mancini back in 2019.

The Atalanta goalkeeper came off the bench for Donnarumma late on in Italy's 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he wasn't named in Mancini's squad for their recent Euro 2020 triumph.

5. He's improved a lot since his Villa days

Given the fact he's since been handed his debut for Italy, you probably don't need to be told Gollini has developed a lot since failing to make the grade in the Championship.

He couldn't have really picked a worse time to join Villa in all honesty and even in his brief spell at the club he displayed glimpses of class - he just failed to do so on a consistent basis.

Were it not for Di Matteo's sacking he'd probably have been afforded more time to settle in England, but since then he's definitely matured and developed as a goalkeeper so Spurs fans don't need to worry just yet.

6. Distribution is one of his best assets

At 6ft4, Gollini is mountain of a goalkeeper and so he looks very impressive when rushing out to players in a one-on-one situation and making himself big.

However, the best part of his game is probably his distribution. The Italian's ability to pick his head up and distribute the ball quickly to his side's forwards has been a feature of his play since establishing himself in the Atalanta side, and Nuno will no doubt see his footballing talents as a big asset given the pace of Son Heung-min.