Bournemouth star Ilya Zabarnyi has caught the attention of Tottenham this season
Tottenham Hotspur have spent plenty of money in the Ange Postecoglou era so far, trying to bridge the gap with the best Premier League teams.
Spurs enjoyed a strong summer transfer window where they broke their previous transfer record by signing Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth. Now, the North Londoners have begun gearing up for the January transfer window, with a substantial budget set aside to improve the backline.
Injury problems to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero reveal potential depth issues under Ange Postecoglou and they have headed into the busy festive period after the international break with just one fit senior centre-back in Radu Dragusin.
After a relatively slow start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign as compared to the previous one, the Lilywhites still can turn their season around and achieve their primary goal – which is likely to qualify for the Champions League by finishing in the top four and win a trophy. And Daniel Levy and his bosses at the Hotspur Way want to stay competitive during the second half of the season by signing a centre-back.
Bournemouth’s highly-rated defender Ilya Zabarnyi has emerged as a target for Tottenham. The Ukraine international has been a revelation since arriving at Bournemouth from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2023, demonstrating his innate qualities on and off the ball. The defender has enjoyed regular football and grown in stature under Andoni Iraola’s coaching.
Ilya Zabarnyi has impressed for the Cherries this season, playing every single minute across 12 Premier League games. Tottenham have shown an interest in the 22-year-old but face competition from current Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The promising young defender has now responded to the claims of Tottenham and Liverpool’s interest. When Zabarnyi was asked about the links to the Premier League duo, he said to the Telegram channel Vzbirna (h/t Champion):
“Liverpool or Tottenham? I don’t know yet.”
Upon being questioned if this is the ‘decisive season’ for him, Zabarnyi responded:
“Is this season decisive for me? Perhaps yes. Every year is important for me, last season after injuries was also important.
“I proved myself well. Now everything is also in my hands, it all depends on me.”
Despite recently signing a new five-year contract at the Vitality Stadium until 2029 (Transfermarkt), interest in Zabarnyi continues to grow. Due to the length of his contract, Bournemouth are in a good position to demand a sizeable fee for their defensive lynchpin. Currently, they are willing to listen to offers in the region of £50m.
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As for Spurs, they still have plenty of games to cover before January, so Postecoglou will have to rely on the options he currently has at his disposal. However, come January, Big Ange has to push Levy and Co. to splash the cash on Zabarnyi.
It remains to be seen whether the North Londoners’ interest in the former Dynamo Kyiv man is genuine, but a move for Zabarnyi would be ambitious given the competition from Liverpool for his signature.
