Tottenham Hotspur face challenge from Serie A giants in race to sign teenage centre-back Antonio Silva
According to A Bola (h/t Liverpool Echo), Tottenham Hotspur are to face stiff competition from Serie A giants Napoli and Juventus in the race to sign Benfica’s teenage centre-back Antonio Silva.
Along with Spurs, Premier League rivals Liverpool are also in the race for an emerging defender who is part of the Portuguese World Cup squad featuring in Qatar. He made his tournament bow in a 2-1 defeat against the Korea Republic.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has been impressed by Silva’s rise and has backed him to become a superstar in years to come.
The 19-year-old was part of the Benfica academy and various youth teams before moving to the senior team this summer. In his first season as a first-team player itself, he has become a regular starter.
During the first half of this season before the World Cup break, Silva made 18 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals. He possesses good physical strength and recovery pace to match the runs of pacy attackers.
He reads the game well but can gradually improve on his passing out from the back. Liverpool do have cover in their central defensive department. As of now, the Reds have four top-class centre-backs in the shape of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez.
So, would it be necessary for them to fork the cash out on a young centre-back who may not get enough game time here? It certainly doesn’t make any sense, especially given the fact that Jurgen Klopp’s men have holes in other departments that need filling.
(Stats courtesy of GGBET). Meanwhile, sites like https://gg.bet/en/fifa/ had given high odds and all popular outcomes for this transfer to be completed.
And that is why Spurs may not have the Merseyside giants to worry about. But Juventus and Napoli could pose serious competition. Napoli lost Kalidou Koulibaly this summer and their new signing, Kim Min-jae, is already linked with a move away from Naples.
Juventus would also prepare for life without Leonardo Bonucci but they did sign Gleison Bremer to replace Giorgio Chiellini. They would perhaps want a young defender who can anchor their backline over the next decade.
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Silva is a fantastic young talent. His next move should be to a club where he can play football and gain experience, rather than going to a place where he is a bit-part player. Doing the latter won’t help in his progression as a player.
We can certainly offer him that. Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon do not have manager Antonio Conte’s trust. Ben Davies continues to play as a makeshift centre-back and one injury to Cristian Romero could destabilise our season – which is why Spurs and Silva seem like a match made in heaven.
