Former Leeds United goalkeeper Elia Caprile has been chosen by Empoli as the replacement for Tottenham Hotspur’s new number one Guglielmo Vicario.
After being picked up by Serie A champions Napoli at the end of July, a talented young shot-stopper who spent two years at Elland Road between 2020 and 2022 will first embark upon a loan spell at Empoli as he looks to prove himself to the reigning Scudetto holders.
Elia Caprile has big shoes to fill too at the Stadio Carlo Castellani. Or big gloves, if you will.
Empoli sold Guglielmo Vicario to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee in the region of £17 million earlier in the summer, and Caprile arrives under pressure to replace a man who boasted Serie A’s fifth-best save percentage rate in 2022/23.
Not that Caprile’s agent has any concerns over his client’s ability to step up to the plate.
Guglielmo Vicario out and Elia Caprile in at Empoli
“(Vicario) did very well. He became an icon and a point of reference for Empoli. He has truly left a very important mark. Elia just needs to stay calm and serene,” Graziano Battistini tells Tuttomercatoweb.
“He will only have to play at his best. I think (Caprile can succeed), but the field will be the sole and unequivocal judge.”
Caprile did not make a single league appearance for Leeds, though his £6 million move to Napoli earns the Yorkshire giants around £3 million thanks to a well-placed ‘sell-on clause’ in his contract.
Caprile’s ‘incredible’ form in the second tier at Bari last term earned him a more-than deserved maiden call-up for the Italy U21 side, and he will now be looking to build on that breakthrough season against the Juventus, Milans and Inters of the world.
“Last year, he had an important season. Performing for Bari at his age demonstrated that he has the pedigree to try and aim really high,” Battistini adds.
“Step by step, you always have to try to raise the bar a little. They say that he has ample room for improvement, therefore he must improve a little in everything.
“He is a boy who has clear ideas. You don’t have to explain big things to him because he already knows what he has to do. He knows the path he has to take, and he knows what he has to put into it.”
