The arrival of Martin Dubravka and a new and improved contract all but confirms Antonin Kinsky’s status as Roberto De Zerbi’s first-choice keeper in one of the most surprising Tottenham redemption arcs.
After Tottenham’s 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid at the Estadio Metropolitano, Antonin Kinsky’s career was supposed to be over.
Kinsky was directly responsible for two of the three catastrophic defensive mistakes in the first 15 minutes, gifting Atletico some of the easiest goals they’d score all season, and couldn’t save himself from being hooked by Igor Tudor after only 17 minutes.
You’d struggle to find a pundit on the circuit who wouldn’t have written off Kinsky then and there. He was supposed to never play in a Tottenham shirt again, never play at the highest level again, and his career was all but over, doomed to play out his remaining days in Turkey or the second Bundesliga.
Three months later and following one of the most remarkable turnarounds in goalkeeping history, Antonin Kinsky is almost certain to start next season as Tottenham’s first-choice keeper and is being rewarded with a brand new contract to reflect his position at the club.
Kinsky’s story can (and will) be studied as one of the best examples of second chances in a sport that rarely gives any.
Every hero needs an origin story and this Tottenham keeper was forged in tragedy
Tottenham’s Champions League fixture away to Atletico Madrid was one of the absolute lows of Tottenham’s gruelling season.
A team well into their third month without a Premier League win and whose individual performances kept reaching previously unthought-of lows, forced to play in a competition that was quickly becoming a distraction from their relegation-approaching domestic form.
The freshly appointed interim boss Igor Tudor struggled to elicit a response from his players and, in a show of force, decided to drop the first-choice keeper Guglielmo Vicario, who was himself on a disappointing run of games.
In comes Antonin Kinsky, who, back then, was still restricted to part-time roles and cameos in cup competitions, where, in all honesty, he failed to leave a lasting impression since his debut in a memorable win over Liverpool in the 2024/25 League Cup first-leg semi-final.
What followed was one of the biggest goalkeeping disasters on a major European stage, comparable perhaps to Loris Karius’ shocker in the 2018 Champions League final.
A slip in the 5th minute directly leading to a goal might have been the worst possible opening for a Champions League debutant. Conceding a second shortly after due to a similar mistake from your centre-back is sure to wreck your confidence. Conceding a third by scuffing a simple pass by placing it right at the feet of the opposition striker might just break a player.
And it appeared to have broken Antonin Kinsky, who, as the ball was making its way into the net, seemingly wanted to drop off the face of the planet by burying his face in the grass of the pitch which had just played a major part in executing his downfall.
Kinsky’s nightmare-turned-reality became complete when Igor Tudor substituted him off for Vicario immediately after and refused to even acknowledge the shattered goalkeeper as he made his way towards the dressing rooms.
The script was written, and the images were all there to complete the story of one of the worst-ever goalkeeper performances in Champions League history. The two mistakes, Kinsky appearing as if he wanted the ground to swallow him whole, getting blanked by your manager.
It was difficult to imagine how a player with barely a handful of games in senior football could recover from that kind of disaster.
A redemption in Lilywhite for Antonin Kinsky
Perhaps paradoxically, it was the sacking of the manager, who tried to platform Kinsky with that Champions League call-up, and a bit of fortunate timing gave the goalkeeper a second lease at life.
Following Igor Tudor’s departure and Roberto De Zerbi’s arrival during the March international break it had been revealed that Guglielmo Vicario had to undergo a hernia surgery which would keep him out of action for at least a few weeks.
Without a starting goalkeeper, De Zerbi was forced to choose between Kinsky and Brandon Austin, and Kinsky won out.
After all, before that terrible night in Madrid, Kinsky was still widely considered a high-potential young goalkeeper, albeit still with a few flaws to his game preventing him from challenging for the number one spot just yet.
Although Spurs ended up losing against Sunderland and put in what was, in the end, a fairly meek performance, the message from De Zerbi was already sent.
He trusts Kinsky enough to give him a chance to redeem himself and wants his passing and distribution to play a calming influence in one of the most unsettled backlines in the league.
While Kinsky’s ability to receive and play an accurate short pass had an instant impact and contributed to Spurs finally looking like they have a plan in-possession, it took a while for his shot-stopping to get going.
But with every game Kinsky’s confidence grew and it didn’t take long for the Czech keeper to start contributing with crucial and outstanding saves.
You can’t understate the importance of his acrobatic save from a free kick to deny Wolves an equaliser and, above all, make sure that Tottenham, then sitting in the relegation zone, grab the vital three points and their first league win in four months.
Kinsky’s good form was absolutely fundamental in the building of momentum which kept Spurs in the Premier League, and he was called on a few times before the end of the season to make game-changing saves.
His consistently great performances and the upside in his short and medium passing he provided over Guglielmo Vicario meant Roberto De Zerbi kept Kinsky as his number one even when Vicario returned to fitness.
In the end, Antonin Kinsky played a pivotal role in keeping Tottenham in the Premier League. And now, it looks like his incredible story is about to enter into another chapter, as Kinsky has been rewarded with a brand new contract and is expected to be the starting goalkeeper for Roberto De Zerbi next season.
Does Kinsky deserve to be Tottenham’s number one keeper?
With Martin Dubravka’s arrival as an experienced head to back up the young and still unexperienced Kinsky, it seems to confirm the club’s expectations that Kinsky can develop into one of the best keepers in Europe.
Giving Kinsky a season to prove his ability seems like a smart bit of business from Tottenham, who have more pressing needs elsewhere in the squad.
A move for a star goalkeeper was seemingly on the cards earlier in the window, but that would have likely again condemned Kinsky to a rotational role in the squad. Other teams, including Tottenham’s North London rivals, have shown that you can create an entirely serviceable team while delaying significant investment into the goalkeeper position.
With how much Kinsky has improved over the seven games he started for Spurs in the Premier League, it is also possible that regular gametime will take him to all new heights, solving the potential squad issue down the line.