Spurs transfer update could be boost for Burnley and Sunderland AFC | OneFootball

Spurs may steer away from the Championship sides' players as a new target emerges.

Tottenham Hotspur may be set to make a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, following reports linking the Premier League side to Burnley and Sunderland's respective number ones, James Trafford and Anthony Patterson.

Johnstone has emerged as a potential target for Spurs in this January transfer window, according to TBR Football's Graeme Bailey. They are set to be without their first-choice shot-stopper, Guglielmo Vicario, for a few months, and, as a result are looking to bring in another option this winter.

Patterson and Trafford had been linked with a move to link up with Ange Postecoglou. However, Football League World's sister publication, GiveMeSport, reported that Spurs were going to wait until the summer to bring in someone that could push Vicario for his number one spot in the Spurs starting XI.

Bringing in Johnstone, should they make that move for the former England international who only joined Wolves this summer, would represent a stop-gap move by Spurs and would still leave the door open for a summer move for either of the Championship glovesmen, but this latest update should settle any nerves in the Burnley and Sunderland camps.

Burnley and Sunderland receive potential Spurs boost

TalkSPORT had stated that Trafford, who was bought by Burnley for an initial £15 million which could rise to £19 million from Manchester City last summer, was a candidate that Spurs were considering making a move for in January. He has kept 15 clean sheets in 24 appearances, conceding only seven goals in that time.

Patterson, the slightly more experienced of the two, was named by The Sun's Alan Nixon as another option that Postecoglou's side were considering heading into the first month of 2025. He has also been linked with Manchester United this season.

Both players now appear to be less viable options for Spurs to go after in this window, as Johnstone emerges as a more likely candidate.

Burnley and Sunderland must have goalkeeping contingency plans in place

The calibre of keeper that both clubs have makes it inevitable that there will always be interest in them from bigger teams. With this comes a need to forward-plan.

In Burnley's case, you could argue that they have already done the work to ensure that they would be fine in this position of the pitch even if Trafford were to be snatched away from them. They signed two goalkeepers in the summer, Vaclav Hladky and Etienne Green. Meanwhile Sunderland aren't quite as prepared.

Simon Moore, 34, has deputised for Patterson this season, and did a fine enough job when asked to step in during the four games that the 24-year-old missed due to injury, but he's not a viable, long-term option for them. Plus, Blondy Nna Noukeu hasn't done anything to suggest that he'd be at the requisite level to step in for Patterson.

Both teams need to know what they would do if either player were to leave their current club in this window, or even in the summer, which is a real possibility.