Aaron Ramsdale’s not a man to shy away from the camera when it’s pointing at him, and that’s paid off from a Boot Spotting perspective this week with the Arsenal goalkeeper showing off a whiteout adidas Predator Prototype, which sees the return of that iconic fold-over tongue…

Since its brief retirement and quick return, there’s been a call for the modern Predator to feature the iconic tongue that was a huge part of the silo from its beginning through to around 2009. The 2007 Powerswerve was one of the last Predator’s to feature that elongated version of the tongue, but now it looks as though its set to get a return, with adidas fulfilling fans’ wishes on the next-gen Predator, expected to drop towards the end of this year, and we’ve got a first look at it courtesy of Aaron Ramsdale.

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Ramsdale opted to wear a whiteout version of the boot in a recent training session, and there was no missing the return of the tongue. While the boots look more like a traditional version of the Predator circa 2000-07 thanks not only to the tongue but also the return of rubber pads instead of spikes, it’s clearly a modern generation boot. This is most obvious through the branding and the soleplate.

Of course, there are plenty of people who don't like a bit of tongue, and that's fair enough – it is, after all, a bit superfluous in modern boot design. And adidas also cater for those people, as does Ramsdale apparently, as he also held a pair of the laceless versions of the new Predator, again in whiteout look. In place of the tongue is a silver accent colour that wraps around the collar.

Adidas tend to drop new generations of their most famous silo towards the end of the year and into the new year, so this is an early look at the new boot, and one that has already got us checking our bank account…

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Shop adidas Predator boots at prodirectsport.com/soccer