The next Petr Cech? Who is new Spurs keeper Kinsky?

Is Tottenham’s goalkeeping crisis over? Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs manager relied on Fraser Forster or Brandon Austin after first-choice keeper Guglielmo Vicario suffered an injury in the fall.

Although the situation was unfavorable, Tottenham might have found a solution by signing Slavia Prague’s Antonin Kinsky, age 21, over the course of the last few days.

Even though Kinsky played in the Czech second division until May 2023, he has since experienced a meteoric rise to become one of the best goalkeepers in central Europe, drawing comparisons to legendary Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

However, there is a different decisive figure behind Kinsky’s upbringing: his father, who approved a move to Spurs.

With almost 400 games in the Czech and Russian leagues and five international caps, Antonin Kinsky Sr. has almost 400 games. Kinsky Jr. has always wanted to achieve similar success in life and is on the right track.

His dad has been supportive all along, also during negotiations with Tottenham.

As Spurs chairman Daniel Levy travelled to Prague, the meeting with Kinsky’s dad proved to be decisive. Kinsky Jr. provided a confirmation of this in the interview with iSport. cz: “I have been listening to my dad until this moment. Without him, I wouldn’t have had this chance.

Kinsky has had a turbulent season. Although there were rumors about his summer break from Slavia due to a lack of playing time, he stayed as the first-choice goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek injured at Euro 2024.

Kinsky stepped in and helped Slavia with great performances, conceding only seven goals in 19 league matches.

He was also convincing in their Europa League games and caught attention with his aerial prowess, reflexes, and distribution skills.

Tottenham’s deal to bring Kinsky in is worth an initial fee of about £12.5m, with reports the fee could rise to £16.6m, making Kinsky the fourth-biggest sale in the history of the Czech league, only behind Tomas Soucek, Tomas Rosicky and Adam Hlozek.

Just over a year ago, that was essentially unthinkable. Kinsky returned to Slavia Prague on a loan to FK Pardubice after spending a season in the Czech second tier at MFK Vyskov, where his playing time remained incredibly short despite his talent.

Before receiving a red card, Kinsky was the first choice at FK Pardubice in the offseason, but after serving his four-game suspension, nothing could stop him. His potential was evident.

Martin Shejbal and Kinsky worked closely together at Pardubice as goalkeeping coaches. He’s a big pro, he works on himself all the time, “he told BBC Sport.

Shejbal has years of experience working with various top Czech goalkeepers, including Braga’s Lukas Hornicek and Getafe’s Jiri Letacek.

When it comes to any comparisons, he described Kinsky as” simply a different breed”.

He says, “He is very fit for top European leagues, and his focus is only football.” He never gives up on his goals and even thinks about how he eats or sleeps. In interviews, he’s also unique.

Shejbal continued, “Many journalists also mentioned that he appeared to be too clever for a football player, especially a goalkeeper.”

Kinsky has represented the Czech Republic from under-15 to under-21 level and earned his first senior call-ups for their Nations League games in October and November, but did not feature.

His senior debut is just a matter of time, though, as Kinsky is considered not to be only talented, but also very hard-working.

Shejbal mentions Kinsky’s high self-imposed high demands, making him an intriguing character.

“He is open to alternative methods of everything. We spent hours talking about various ways of preparation.

Before going to school, Kinsky used to work out with a personal fitness coach while growing up in Prague.

He told Czech website Seznam Zpravy, “I sometimes remember when I was lazy to get out of bed, but then I got off the metro in the dark and told myself I knew what I was doing.”

He aspired to be his father’s main idol, who was also a successful person.

We watched his games when I was a child, and then we discussed different game scenarios and how he could have improved.

His parents taught him how to be calm and self-assured, and his work ethic was a major component of his upbringing. Additional sources of inspiration included reading a book about Kobe Bryant or watching interviews with successful people in various industries.

Kinsky still needs to surpass Cech, who has the most clean sheets in Premier League history with 202, to top it off.

” It is not possible to repeat his career. I have a different path, but Kinsky said, “I hope I will get my chance in England in the same way that he did.”

When it comes to playing style, according to Shejbal, Cech and Kinsky don’t have that much in common.

” I would rather say there are similar personalities, “he said”. Cech was a great professional. When he did some mistakes in the national team’s games, he never really made a victim out of himself, he would not be drowned in regret. Kinsky is the same. “

Shejbal supports Kinsky to establish himself at Tottenham rather than go on loan.