Over the course of the January transfer window, we are taking a close look at some of the biggest and best business in our ‘Transfer of the Week’ columns. The first edition focuses on new Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Antonín Kinský, who has already impressed on debut.
By Neel Shelat
Tottenham Hotspur’s season has been anything but straightforward. An ever-growing list of injury issues among other factors has forced them to fall on contingency plan after contingency plan, unsurprisingly impacting their performances and results.
The January transfer window could not have come soon enough for them, so they have already made a noteworthy move. With first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario out for at least a couple of more months due to an ankle injury and backup Fraser Forster seemingly unfit for Ange Postecoglu’s ball-playing requirements, Spurs spent €16.5 million to sign Antonín Kinský. The Czech goalkeeper was dropped straight into the thick of it as he made his club debut in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool this week, and he hit the ground running with a man of the match performance.
Tottenham fans will surely be excited to see more of the youngster now, so we have taken a look at what they should expect.
Promising modern goalkeeper
As is most often the case in the mid-season transfer window, Tottenham have had to pay a bit of a premium to sign Kinský at this time. Nevertheless, they will hope that he proves to be worth the fee in the long run.
The 21-year-old shot-stopper has only seen a season and half of top-flight action so far, though he has looked quite good after a promising youth career. The son of a former Czech national team goalkeeper of the same name, Kinský spent much of his childhood under his tutelage at Tempo Prague. Even before he made his senior debut, he earned a national team call-up with the under-17 side.
Kinský has only gone from strength to strength since. He got his senior breakthrough with Dukla Prague in 2020, playing a handful of matches for the then-second-tier side. A year later, domestic giants Slavia decided to sign just after he turned 18 years old. As is often the case at such big clubs, though, the youngster had no clear shot at regular first-team action and soon had to look elsewhere for game time. He decided to get more second-tier action at MFK Vyškov, playing close to 50 matches for the club in a season and half on loan.
The situation at Slavia remained similar thereafter, but Kinský’s consistent showings in the second division attracted interest from top-flight clubs. So, Pardubice decided to bring him in for the 2023/24 season and give him his first taste of top-flight action. He got off to a rocky start by picking up a red card in the second match of the season and soon suffered some physical setbacks, so it was not until December that he made his third appearance for the club. Nevertheless, he went on to have a strong second half of the season, ending the season with an impressive save percentage of 79 with an average of around 4 saves per match. The youngster also showed himself to be very capable on the ball, completing just over nine long passes per 90.
As he returned to Slavia once again last summer, Kinský was prepared to seek a permanent move away in search of sustained game time. However, a long-term injury suffered by the club’s first-choice goalkeeper gave him a golden opportunity at the club, and he took it with both hands. In his 19 league matches for the Czech leaders this season, Kinský let in just seven goals and kept out 83% of the shots he faced, making him the best stopper in the division in that respect. He also continued to shine with the ball at his feet, averaging 27.5 successful passes per 90 of which a third were accurate long balls. The youngster could be regularly seen playing well outside the box, but was not caught out of position for any goals conceded and consistently made the right decisions when it came to intercepting balls in behind.
This combination of excellent shot-stopping and ball-playing quality is surely what moved Spurs to sign Kinský in this window. He should be expected to keep that up in the English Premier League, but it will be interesting to see how he deals with corners and set-pieces. That has been the glaring weakness in Vicario’s game this term which opponents have looked to target while Tottenham’s defending has not been great either, so Kinský could be in for some tough tests against dead balls.
Long-term role
All being well, nothing should stop Kinský from immediately establishing himself as Tottenham’s second-choice goalkeeper. His performance against Liverpool showed that he is well up to the task, so he should continue to start between the sticks ahead of Forster and Brandon Austin until Vicario returns from injury.
Thereafter, it will be interesting to see whether the Czech youngster can challenge the 28-year-old Italian for the starting spot. Vicario should certainly retain the edge, but his set-piece weakness might just give Kinský a potential opening. At the very least, he should be Spurs’ cup goalkeeper next season.
Kinský also has a great opportunity to earn his first national team cap and even become the first-choice for Czechia before long. Slavia’s Jindřich Staněk and Bayer Leverkusen’s Matej Kovar are the only two keepers currently standing in his way, but he could easily overtake them with a run of impressive performances at the highest level of English football.
Clearly, the future looks quite bright for Kinský, but making a memorable instant impact at Tottenham should remain his foremost task.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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