Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris explains why he rejected OGC Nice return

As reported by The Telegraph’s Matt Law, OGC Nice offered former goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (36) the chance to return to the club in the dying hours of the transfer window. However, France’s most-capped player rejected the offer and has now explained why to Nice-Matin. 

Lloris has fallen down the pecking order at Tottenham, with Guglielmo Vicario replacing the Frenchman in the starting lineup. He was therefore expected to leave the club this summer. However, Lloris was insistent on being number one at his next club, leading him to reject advances from Lazio and Newcastle United. 

Nice then made an offer in the final hours of the window after Kasper Schmeichel left Les Aiglons. The Danish goalkeeper’s contract was terminated by mutual consent after he was replaced in the starting line-up by Marcin Bulka. However, Lloris rejected the chance to return to his former club, and in the name of “transparency,” has explained his decision to Nice-Matin. 

“I want to clear up the ambiguity surrounding the events of the past hours. Yesterday, an hour before the end of the window, I received a call from an agent, who evoked the possibility of joining OGC Nice. Playing prospects and the sporting project, the real motors behind a player’s decision, much more so than financial conditions, weren’t clearly broached. My professional journey has shown that exchange, sharing and collective growth have always forged my decisions, even more so when it’s about coming back to the club that trained me. The supporters and the team deserve better than a split-second decision based on a phone call without expectations or a clear sporting project with one hour until the closure of the window at a time where I wasn’t expecting it,” said Lloris. 

He added, “To be honest, I couldn’t sign without this common shared vision, at least with the president and the coach. OGC Nice is, and will remain a different club for me. It is my city, my club, my blood. A goalkeeper (Bulka) is in place today. He is without a doubt one of the best at the start of the season. He has a promising career ahead of him. Joining a club to play, to build, to perform, yes; signing without a sporting vision and a direct positive impact on the team, no.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle