Tottenham are on the lookout for a new full-back, and we have been linked with a host of right-backs in recent months. Daily Star now reports that Mauricio Pochettino has shifted his focus to Djibril Sidibe, who has also been one of the stars of the Monaco team which won the French league title and also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. Though Sidibe is a right-back, he can also play on the left-hand side of the defence.
We’re not the only club interested in signing the player, as it was revealed that our archrivals Arsenal are also keen on bringing the 24-year-old to English football. Interestingly, Monaco managed to sign Sidibe from Lille only last summer. He has become one of the top players in French football in the span of 12 months. The bidding war expected between Arsenal and Tottenham is one of the factors that could drive the price of the player up.
Last season, Sidibe managed 29 appearances in the league. In all competitions, he made 47 appearances and came up with 8 assists. These are impressive figures which are enhanced even more by his return of three goals. More importantly, he was part of the Monaco team that conceded only 31 goals in 38 league matches. As a result, the team had the second best defensive record in the 2016-17 season of the French league with only PSG conceding fewer goals.
One of the reasons for Spurs showing a lot of interest in Sidibe, who is a right back by trade, is the potential departure of Kyle Walker. Manchester City are heavily interested (the Sun) in signing the England international for a fee of around £40million. The transfer rumours certainly got to the head of the player, who missed some key matches towards the end of last season. Spurs are keeping close tabs on the situation of Sidibe, and it seems like we are ready to make a move for the 24-year-old if Kyle Walker moves to the Etihad Stadium.
Monaco are in a strong position to refuse any transfer offers given that the players still has a contract until June 2021. Even though he is eligible to play for Mali, Sidibe chose the French national team and has featured in 7 games since his debut a year ago.
