Transfer News: Jose Mourinho wants Tottenham Hotspur star Japhet Tanganga at AS Roma
Jose Mourinho is apparently keen on signing Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga, according to the print edition of Il Tempo (h/t Football.London).
AC Milan’s interest in the English defender is no secret. The 23-year-old defender had a breakthrough spell at Tottenham under Mourinho when he was the Lilywhites’ manager.
However, he hasn’t been able to build on that and has not featured for Antonio Conte as much as he would have liked. He enjoyed just 739 minutes of Premier League football last season.
Tanganga was left out of Spurs’ trip to Israel this weekend where they took on AS Roma in Haifa. However, the reason to exclude him was entirely based on his health, as per Football.London.
Spurs should look at the bigger picture
Tanganga is a versatile defender who can play on the right-hand side of the defence as well. However, Conte’s system demands his wing-backs to be fearless going forward, while Tanganga’s strongest suit remains his defensive ability.
He is, however, a good option to play as a centre-back especially when it comes to maintaining depth going into the new season. Signing quality starters is important but so is having a good bench.
In that department, we have only managed to sign Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona. Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, and Ben Davies are expected to be named in Conte’s starting XI more often than not.
But beyond that, the club lacks serious quality in defence. Joe Rodon’s move to Rennes could be completed before the end of the transfer window while Davinson Sanchez continues to struggle for minutes.
More Tottenham News:
- Tottenham ‘confident’ about €45m transfer hijack; Paratici set to hold talks for priority target
- Antonio Conte tells three Tottenham Hotspur players to step up their performances
- AS Roma ‘happy’ to sell Nicolo Zaniolo after transfer talks with Tottenham Hotspur
In this regard, keeping Tanganga at N17 makes sense. He still has three more years on his Spurs contract but it remains to be seen if he would be happy with such a passive role in the Italian manager’s plans.
