Transfer News: Aston Villa interested in Tottenham Hotspur target and Inter Milan star Stefan de Vrij
According to Football Insider (h/t Birmingham Mail), Aston Villa are the latest club to register their interest in Stefan de Vrij who has been identified as a target for Tottenham Hotspur recently. The Inter Milan defender has also been linked to the likes of Newcastle United, Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund.
The 30-year-old is a sturdy presence at the back for the Nerazzurri making 155 appearances, bagging eights goals, and providing six assists in the process across all competitions to date. But what those stats don’t show is his composure and dependability in the heart of his team’s defence.
His current deal with the defending Serie A winners expires in the summer of 2023. It is believed that the Dutch defender could already be thinking of his long-term future elsewhere and the Italian club is thought to be monitoring Gleison Bremer, who could be viewed as a long-term replacement to de Vrij.
Can Spurs land Stefan de Vrij?
His Serie A exploits have been pretty impressive in the last few years and he also played an important part in leading Inter Milan to their first Scudetto in 11 years. He has been a rock at the back and has already played under Antonio Conte as recently as last season.
It’s not wholly wrong to presume that this relationship could be a potential advantage for us should we pursue this deal wholeheartedly, but the interest from the other clubs could make it a difficult deal to pull off. Steven Gerrard has had a decent start to life at Villa Park after managing to bring in the likes of Phillipe Coutinho and Lucas Digne.
They could be looking to take their game to the next level by adding an elite centre-back and the 30-year-old Dutch defender fits that description. With his kind of pedigree, de Vrij certainly won’t be short of suitors. Having played shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of stars such as Milan Skriniar, Virgil van Dijk, and Matthijs de Ligt, he can certainly hold his own in the backline.
The Lilwyhites have managed to provide fans with an attacking and intense style of football since Conte took charge of the North London club. But one area where we can surely improve is defence- with the club leaking cheap goals a big part of our recent inconsistent form under the Italian boss.
At 30, the former Feyenoord player has a plethora of experience at the elite level. He could help anchor the backline at the club from N-17 and add that extra bit of stability that has been missing from Spurs in the last couple of seasons.
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His expertise could also provide our dressing room with a stronger mentality which could be handy during crunch situations. Tottenham could do well to bring someone like Stefan de Vrij to Hotspur Way but should be wary of the interest from other clubs should they be genuinely interested in the Dutch defender.
Having lost two marquee senior defenders in Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen in back-to-back summer windows, it is about time we add an experienced head in our defence to focus on the present- rather than the long-term future of our backline.
