Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly eyeing Fulham’s teenage sensation Ryan Sessegnon as a potential replacement for Danny Rose next summer. Tottenham have long been interested in Sessegnon but face a stiff competition from Manchester United, who are preparing to offer £25m to Fulham for the 17-year-old left-back, as per The Guardian.
The Sun followed up by claiming that United boss Jose Mourinho is willing to get the deal done in January so that he could loan Sessegnon back to Fulham in order to continue his development.
On the other hand, Spurs like Sessegnon, with recent claims suggesting the Londoners may also look to sign his twin brother Steven from Fulham. Sessegnon has also been targeted by Liverpool and Arsenal but rejected the attraction of Premier League giants to sign his first professional contract with Fulham in the summer.
Since then, the youth star’s prominence has continued. He has scored 4 goals and 2 assists in 23 appearances for the Cottagers this term, giving him plenty of opportunities to gain experience in a severely competitive league.
Sessegnon, 17, who finished as the joint top-scorer at the European Under-19 Championship in June with 3 goals, usually operates at left-back but is also capable of operating further up the field and has gained a reputation as one of English football’s brightest young talents.
The Fulham starlet became the first 17-year-old to score a hat-trick in the top four divisions of English football since Dele Alli when he guided his club to a 5-4 win over Sheffield United in November. Whilst Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic admits it is not his decision to make, he is optimistic that the England youth international will continue his development in west London at the end of January.
“In this moment, I am not thinking of being without him for the season, but it is not under my control,” he said.
“All the questions are what the value of this player is, but myself, as a coach, I prefer to stay with the more important players for the competition that is ahead of us, but on the other side I can understand the business side too. If we want to be competitive we must keep our important players.”
Sessegnon is energetic, quick, technically excellent and versatile in terms of play and if Mauricio Pochettino is successful in signing him, it would be a major coup for Spurs.