Spurs Transfer News: RB Leipzig ace Josko Gvardiol tops Tottenham Hotspur centre-back shortlist
According to The Athletic (Subscription Required), RB Leipzig ace Josko Gvardiol and Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni are at the top of the summer transfer shortlist prepared by Tottenham Hotspur for the left centre-back position. He is one of the highly-rated defensive prospects in Germany right now after breaking into the club and national team level at a young age.
Tottenham have plans to sign a left-sided central defender this summer to add more competition to Ben Davies. Signing someone in that position is deemed a priority, which has prompted them to prepare a shortlist including four centre-backs across Europe. Gvardiol tops their list, but he would likely be expensive as a club-record fee may have to be paid.
The Athletic also tout 20-year-old Gvardiol as a “perfect” option for Antonio Conte due to the similarities in his playstyle when compared to what the boss wants from his wide centre-backs. Sven Botman of Lille and Nico Schlotterbeck from Freiburg follow suit in succession on the shortlist.
Major plans underway
Davies has certainly done a more than fine job playing as a left-sided centre-back despite being a natural full-back for long periods of his playing career. However, it is pretty clear how we need defensive additions, considering how Joe Rodon and Davinson Sanchez have been cast aside by the Italian boss.
Even Japhet Tanganga, who is currently out injured, can arguably be upgraded with a better option. Gvardiol would undoubtedly be a great choice, having become a regular for Leipzig and Croatia in a short period. That being said, his valuation could be a bit of a problem if it would take a club-record fee to secure his services.
Fortunately, we have contingency plans, with Bastoni being next on the shortlist. Spurs could sign him for a fee of at least £50million as Inter could be forced to part ways with him due to their financial instability. Not to mention, he also has the experience of playing under Conte. If that is deemed expensive as well, we still have Botman and Schlotterbeck, who can be solid options in defence.
The North Londoners are boosted by Botman’s desire to play in the Premier League. However, they are trailing at this moment, with AC Milan being keen admirers of the defender. Milan have also discussed personal terms, and they have already covered some ground over a potential move.
Finally, Schlotterbeck is also another great option as he has stood out in a Freiburg team who has punched above their weight so far. However, Fabio Paratici and co will need to deal with Bayern Munich, who are keeping tabs on the central defender at the moment.
It is good to see that the club are targeting top talents across Europe to back Conte. We will need to spend big this summer if there are plans to challenge for titles under the Spurs boss. It will be interesting to see who we will sign or whether we can bring in anyone from this shortlist at all or not after this term.
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It is high time we take the transfer market by its collar, spend the bucks and get in a proper centre-back that can lead our defence in the coming years just like Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld did in the recent past- with both the Belgians having now left the Lilywhites.
It remains to be seen who we get in this summer, but if it is one of the names from the list mentioned above, not a lot of fans would be complaining about it.
