Why Tottenham signed 'risk-taker' Antonin Kinsky, the goalkeeper with better stats than Alisson and David Raya
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Antonin Kinsky had just clambered out of the sauna on Friday evening when he learned he would be flying to London in the morning to sign for Tottenham. Kinsky, the 21-year-old goalkeeper who has joined Spurs from Slavia Prague in a deal worth around £12.5million, had been "certain" he would stay at the Czech club this month and the transfer happened so quickly, he nearly left for the UK without a pair of boots or gloves.
"On Friday morning, I was at training, and there was no indication that anything was about to happen," Kinsky told Slavia's website in an emotional goodbye interview. "That evening, I was with friends at the sauna and then had a massage... and that’s when I found out what was happening.
"I realised that if I was flying out in the morning, I’d need gloves and boots. I didn’t have either at home, so I started looking. "I drove to Plzen and then to Eden [Fortuna Arena], where I would have gone anyway to say goodbye and take one last look at the stadium.".
It was a wrench for Kinsky to leave Slavia after an "incredibly intense" six months as their No1 this season, but he immediately recognised Spurs' interest as the "kind of opportunity that might only come once in a lifetime", describing the transfer as "a dream come true".
Long-term, Kinsky is expected to compete with Guglielmo Vicario to be Ange Postecoglou's No1 and he is available to go straight into the squad for Wednesday's visit of Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. With Vicario sidelined until late February after surgery on a fractured foot, Kinsky will be competing with academy graduate Brandon Austin and Fraser Forster for a place against the Reds, provided the latter recovers from sickness in time to feature.
