Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is reportedly weighing up a contract offer from Nice after turning down the chance to move to Newcastle United.
Despite his well-documented desire to end his association with Spurs this summer, Lloris enters the final knockings of the transfer window still on the books in North London.
The former France international would have supposedly been offered a triple-your-money deal to make the move to Saudi Arabia, but he is believed to be prioritising European football.
A return to former club Nice - where Lloris spent 11 years between 1997 and 2008 - has been mooted, and according to journalist Matt Law, an offer is now on the table.
A space has opened up in Les Aiglons' goalkeeping ranks after the French side terminated the contract of former Leicester City and Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who spent just one year at the Allianz Riviera.
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Law states that Lloris's future remains clouded in uncertainty, though, as no decision has been made over whether the 36-year-old will take up the offer to return to his boyhood club.
Should Lloris turn down the opportunity, his options for an eleventh-hour move away are limited, as L'Equipe also claims that he rebuffed a recent approach from Newcastle United.
Nick Pope is Eddie Howe's undisputed number one at St James' Park, and Lloris apparently had no interest in playing second fiddle to the England international, which led to him turning down the approach.
The former Lyon man supposedly believes that he is still good enough to be first choice, and a move to Lazio was also mooted this summer before a deal collapsed.
Lloris is now in the final year of his Lilywhites contract, and while the club allegedly agreed to let him leave for free, the report adds that they have hampered his chances of an exit by sometimes demanding a nominal fee.
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Unless a resolution is reached imminently, Lloris will ostensibly see out the final year of his Tottenham contract before leaving on a free transfer, despite being ostracised from the squad.
Guglielmo Vicario has already established himself as Ange Postecoglou's number one, while Fraser Forster, Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman are serving as backups to the Italian.
Lloris could therefore be set for a rather bitter end to a distinguished Tottenham career, during which he has kept 151 clean sheets from 447 matches for Tottenham across all competitions.
However, the 36-year-old only accrued seven shut-outs in the 2022-23 Premier League season and also made a league-high four errors directly leading to a goal as Spurs missed out on a place in Europe.
Ben Knapton
