He is the second player to join the team since the new boss, Ange Postecoglou, took over. The first was Sweden midfielder Dejan Kulusevski, who switched from a loan to a permanent move.

Vicario, who is 26, did well in his two years at Empoli and got his first call-up to the national team last year.

Hugo Lloris, who is the captain of Spurs and the number one player right now, has one year left on his deal.

The club in north London says that Vicario is a “commanding goalkeeper who can play out from the back.”

He started his career at Udinese and also played for Cagliari, Perugia, and Venezia. In July 2021, after Empoli moved up to Serie A, he joined the team.

Empoli was supposed to be fighting to stay in the league, but their 6ft 4in goalkeeper has helped them finish in 14th place for two straight seasons.

Last season, Vicario played in 31 league games and gave up only 39 goals. He also kept seven clean sheets, which helped Empoli finish 12 points ahead of the drop zone.

He was called up to the Italy team for the first time in September, when England beat them 1-0 at home in a European Championship qualifying game. He didn’t play, though, because he was on the bench.

Since then, Vicario has been put on the bench for matches against Albania and Austria, as well as for their run to the Nations League semi-final this month.

Fraser Forster, who is 35 years old, is another goalkeeper choice for Spurs. He filled in for Lloris last year when he was hurt.