Tottenham Hotspur Transfers: 5 Goalkeepers to Replace Brad Friedel

He's 41 years old, he's played for more clubs than you have fingers (if you could the U.S. men's national team) and he was between the posts for every one of title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur's league matches last season.

His name is Brad Friedel and you wouldn't be crazy to call him America's most accomplished goalkeeper.

Friedel started his career in 1994 with the U.S. men's national team and has since put on the jersey for Newcastle, Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa and, most recently, Tottenham Hotspur. He's the personification of longevity, but everyone's motor gives out at one time or another.

New Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas has been dipping his toe into the shallow end of finding Friedel's replacement, but so far nothing has come to the surface.

Friedel's backups, Carlo Cudicini and Hercules Gomes, are barely up to Europa League standards and should probably ride out their days in a lower division of English soccer. Before the summer transfer window closes, it's going to become imperative for Villas-Boas to find someone to slot in at goalkeeper. Who should that be?

Join me as I give you the five best options to replace Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Hugo Lloris, Lyon

This is the one all of north London is hoping for, not just because he's good—the guy has cat-like reflexes, no exaggeration—but because he's young and already performing at the highest level in France's Ligue 1.

According to The Sun, Tottenham reportedly offered the 25-year-old French 'keeper £13 million to cross the English Channel. His club, Lyon, said "sacre bleu!" to the lowball offer and are sticking with the £16 million price tag they put on him in the spring.

Pony up, Spurs, and you could have Friedel's replacement signed, sealed and delivered to White Hart Lane.

Wayne Hennessey, Wolverhampton

Here me out, guys.

Hennessey may have earned the highest goals against average of any Premier League goalkeeper last season (2.15), but that's less about his quality and more about the lack of quality of his defensive backline.

Last season, his centre-backs, Christophe Berra and Roger Johnson, were incredibly poor at passing, lost possession more times than I could count in front of goal, and their tackling was either ineffective or drew fouls.

In short, I think with players like Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen shielding him, he'd come close to cutting that goals against average in half.

The 25-year-old is out until Christmas with a torn cruciate knee ligament, and he'll be sitting on the bench for a newly relegated Wolverhampton side. I think that presents the perfect opportunity to bring him on board. He's itching to get back to top-tier football and there'd be absolutely no pressure for Villas-Boas to sit Friedel right away.

Hennessey can train with the club as his knee permits and make his way onto the pitch in non-league matches with the hope being that the job is his starting in 2013-14.

Esteban Alvarado, AZ Alkmaar

Ever heard of Esteban Alvarado? No?

Then you didn't hear how he was the reason AZ Alkmaar was this close to wrapping up a spot in this year's Champions League.

You also didn't hear about his 1.03 goals against average, best in an Eredivisie that features some of the highest scoring matches in the world.

If not for a stingy offense, you'd have heard of Esteban Alvarado and he'd be on the radar of every Spurs fan. England's Premier League offers Alvarado the chance to show he's not a big fish in the relatively small pond known as Eredivisie.

Hopefully, Villas-Boas takes a chance on Alvarado and continues the tradition of having strong, physical goalkeepers between the posts at White Hart Lane.

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Borussia Mönchengladbach

In the Bundesliga there's three top-tier goalkeepers—Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich, Roman Weidenfeller of Borussia Dortmund and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen of Borussia Mönchengladbach.

All three averaged less than 1.00 goals against average in a league where efficiency is key and squads look, at times, mechanical.

But whereas Bayern Munich signed Neuer through 2016 to the second-richest contract ever for a goalkeeper and Weidenfeller is walking into the sunset of his career with a Borussia Dortmund club that seems to have signed him for life, the high-energy, no-fear Marc-Andre Ter Stegen could potentially make a move.

His body is young enough at 20 years old to come out bravely against crosses and one-on-one opportunities, but his mind is mature enough to confidently order the defense into a cohesive unit.

Artur Boruc, Fiorentina

I put Boruc last on this list because he's as good as you're going to get for a free transfer price. He's currently a free agent, with Fiorentina not re-signing him after what I think was a solid year with the Serie A club.

He played more minutes between the posts than anyone save three and his 1.14 goals against average was sixth-best in the league. His 14 clean sheets were bested only by Samir Handanovic and Gianluigi Buffon, which is pretty good considering Fiorentina's quick pace of play last season.

Boruc's a free agent, and if Tottenham need an emergency signing in the 11th hour, there's a lot worse paths they could go down.