Tottenham Hotspur are close to finalising Hugo Lloris' contract extension...

What's the word?

That is according to the ever-reliable Alasdair Gold of football.london, who delivered what he described as "a positive update" on the current situation.

'football.london understands that with talks finally having begun, Lloris' new contract is expected to be finalised very soon, with the keeper keen to stay and what are believed to be modest demands from him deemed more than reasonable by the club," he wrote in an accompanying article this week.

The 35-year-old's £100k-per-week contract was due to expire at the end of the season, so this claim will serve as a major boost to manager Antonio Conte, the squad and the fanbase.

Conte will be delighted

Indeed, the Italian head coach will be loving this news from behind the scenes at Hotspur Way.

Conte's history with goalkeepers suggests that he likes one solid option between the sticks across all competitions and that's exactly what he gets with Lloris, who has proven to be a reliable and vastly-experienced choice over the years.

"Hugo today showed that he is at the top and he is always focused and for us, he is very important and I am sure that in the short time they can find a solution in the club because he loves Tottenham and Tottenham loves him," the 52-year-old told reporters after the win over Watford on New Years Day.

The World Cup winner is on the cusp of joining the 400-club at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - should things go their way, he will reach that feat in February, having played 394 times since arriving in a £12m deal from Lyon in September 2012.

In that time, Lloris has kept 134 clean sheets and whilst on the face of it, that's not overwhelmingly exciting, he has not had a solid backline in front of him for several seasons now. If anything, his presence has stopped them from leaking even more goals in recent times.

"He is brave, performance, quality he showed he is one of the best in the world, no doubt," once claimed former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

The fact that the club are close to agreeing on fresh terms is indeed positive and that should leave Conte a little less worried heading into the summer. He'll be delighted to tie his no.1 down for the foreseeable.

AND in other news ,Spurs could sign next De Bruyne in "complete" £24.3m-rated gem, he bullied Pochettino's PSG...