Darren Bent claims player has failed to prove he should be a starter for Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur had been without their first-choice shot-stopper and captain for the vast majority of the season after Hugo Lloris dislocated his elbow in October.

The injury came when Spurs were defeated 3-0 by Brighton, as Lloris somehow managed to gift the opponents an early opener before landing awkwardly on his arm after failing to judge the flight of the ball from a cross.

However, the Frenchman returned to the starting line-up last night against Norwich City in a 2-1 home win, with Gazzaniga dropping to the bench.

Paulo Gazzaniga stepped in that day against Brighton and had been an ever-present since, under both Pochettino and Mourinho.

The Argentine saved a penalty against Watford to earn Spurs a point last time out and has generally looked solid in most matches.

However, he has had a mistake in him too, such as the strange penalty he gave away at home to Chelsea just before Christmas.

Speaking before the Norwich match, Darren Bent predicted an axe for Gazzaniga in the long-term, claiming that he has not done enough to warrant a claim to the number one jersey.

Darren Bent warns that the Argentine has not done enough to displace Lloris (Football Insider): “Obviously he’s got some time Gazzaniga, a great save from the penalty (v Watford) but I think he had that initial boost, he’s been really, really solid since Lloris has been out until a couple of weeks ago.

“He tried to carve someone in half (v Chelsea). I guess he’s had moments where you’d thought: ‘What a very, very good goalkeeper, he could take Lloris’ spot,’ but I don’t think he’s been consistent enough in the longer period to warrant everyone saying he’s got to be their number one.”

Bent was right about Lloris taking over immediately, but do you think Gazzaniga will be axed in the long-term, or can he fight for the number one jersey this season?

Spurs Web Opinion:

On his day, Hugo Lloris is still one of the best keepers in the world. It is hard for any understudy to compete with that. However, I believe that Gazzaniga will continue to get chances and has thrown his name in the hat for replacing Lloris when he moves on.

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