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Sunderland to accept £20m bid for Tottenham target who has a key role to fulfill in Europe this season
Tottenham are exploring a move for Sunderland left-back Dennis Cirkin
Now that a new head coach in Thomas Frank is at the helm, Tottenham Hotspur can fully concentrate on rebuilding the squad. They will have to bring in quality players that fit into Thomas Frank’s style of play and principles.
Upgrading the starting XI will be the topmost priority, though, Spurs will need to add quality depth to their squad to be able to compete across multiple fronts. Having won the Europa League by beating Manchester United in the final in May, the Lilywhites subsequently qualified for the Champions League. Therefore, they must comply with UEFA’s rules in order to compete in the Champions League.
As per Football London, UEFA rules state that Tottenham must have four ‘club-trained players’ in their squad, someone who has been on a club’s books for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21. Currently, they have just one in the form of goalkeeper Brandon Austin.
In order to comply with UEFA’s rules, Spurs have been linked with a move for former full-back Kyle Walker-Peters, who is currently on the books of Southampton but will become a free agent at the end of June. Another player who could aid Tottenham’s homegrown quota is Sunderland left-back Dennis Cirkin.
Tottenham have been monitoring Dennis Cirkin ahead of a possible swoop. The left-back signed for Sunderland in 2021, having never made a senior appearance for Tottenham, and has gone on to establish himself a key player of the Wearside club. He was instrumental in Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League this past season, registering three goals and two assists in 39 appearances and playing every minute of their thrilling playoff campaign.
With Spurs in desperate need of club-trained players, former scout Bryan King thinks the North Londoners will make a move for Cirkin this summer. He feels Sunderland would accept a bid of £20million for their star defender, but is unsure whether the deal is ideal for Tottenham.
“Cirkin is still only 23 years old,” Bryan King exclusively told Tottenham News.
“Therefore, it would probably take a bid of about £20m for Sunderland to accept. I know they need to address this issue, but they’re linked with Kyle Walker-Peters as well.
“Tottenham don’t want to sign too many players in that position because they’ve already got quite a bit of coverage in the full-back areas.
“If Tottenham can bring through some Under-21 players to address that issue, that would be a much cheaper option than going out and buying a player like Cirkin. I wouldn’t think Sunderland would be too happy about it either.”
In Pedro Porro and Djed Spence, Spurs have sufficient options at right-back. In contrast, Destiny Udogie is the only natural left-back in the squad following the club’s decision to release Sergio Reguilon. Thus, there is a need to add to the left-back department, and Cirkin would be a sensible buy.
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At 23, Cirkin’s best years are clearly ahead of him and he’d be a good option to provide back-up for Udogie. The Dublin-born talent would also fulfil the N17-based outfit’s most important requirement of club-trained players to participate in the Champions League next term.
As King says, if the Black Cats slap a £20m valuation on Cirkin, Spurs must not hesitate to pay it and bring him back to our club.
