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How goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky slipped through Chelsea’s grasp to join Spurs

Antonin Kinsky
Antonin Kinsky kept a clean sheet on his debut for Tottenham against Liverpool - Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Petr Cech has revealed that he scouted new Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky for Chelsea while he was technical and performance adviser at Stamford Bridge.

And former Chelsea goalkeeper Cech, who advised the 21-year-old on his move to England, fully expects Czech compatriot Kinsky to draw comparisons with him, following an impressive start to his Spurs career.

Kinsky kept a clean sheet on his Tottenham debut against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg success, having only trained twice with his new team-mates after completing a £12.5 million transfer from Slavia Prague.

It has been revealed that Daniel Levy personally flew to Prague on New Year’s Day, along with technical director Johan Lange, to seal the deal to sign Kinsky – who could have been a Chelsea player.

Asked when Kinsky first hit his radar, Cech, in an interview with Flashscore, said: “I remember the moment when Antonín Kinsky was still playing for the national team at Under-16; a game when we watched him and when we scouted him for our own club [Chelsea].

“You could see that he was strong, with his legs, you could see that he had a good starting position and he was actually helping the team at the back to launch attacks.”

Petr Cech
Petr Cech scouted a young Antonin Kinsky when he was Chelsea’s technical and performance adviser under the ownership of Roman Abramovich - Clive Howes/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Kinsky’s nationality means he will no doubt be compared with Cech, who said: “Of course, he comes from Czechia and that comparison will always be there. But I think it’s important that he makes his own way. Radek Cerny already made a good impression at Tottenham.”

Despite his old playing rivalry with Spurs, Cech believes Kinsky is in a good environment to succeed.

“I always went there [Tottenham] just for the game at the stadium and we always won and went back home [smiling],” said Cech. “So it was always nice and all that.

“But I have to say that the important thing here is that the facilities are great, whether it’s the training centre or whether it’s the stadium and I think that’s where you spend most of your time, so this is important.”

Kinsky’s agent Viktor Kolar revealed the part Cech played in Kinsky’s switch to Spurs and the lengths Levy and Lange went to to get their man.


“He [Kinsky] also had the opportunity to talk about the transfer with people who are close to him and who have achieved something in life and sport, and one of them was Petr Cech, so we preferred this scenario. Toni can consult things with Petr and talk about the goalkeeping stuff,” said Kolar.

On Levy’s involvement and negotiations with Slavia Prague, Kolar added: “Our team was still sitting at a petrol station in Prague until almost 10pm of Dec 31, because everything was closed on New Year’s Eve and the subsequent development was that on Jan 1, Daniel Levy flew in himself and the two-day negotiations in Prague began. He had Johan Lange with him.

“The negotiations were intense, stretching late into the night. But it worked and I’m happy about that. It was a beautiful test to see if people and organisations this dominant can find their way to each other.

“Tottenham trusted Kinsky, and the whole team of people in that recruitment department, which includes chief scout Rob Mackenzie and his 11 people, so they agreed on Toni. They all raised their hand and voted from zero to 10 for him.”