Tottenham are looking to reinforce their midfield unit in the summer.
Tottenham Hotspur finally climbed out of the drop zone after beating Aston Villa 2-1 away last weekend. Roberto De Zerbi’s men fully deserved the victory after dominating the game from the first blow of the whistle to the last.
The main priority for Spurs is to maintain their Premier League status by the end of this month. The club bosses are mapping out plans to reinforce the squad in the summer. Several glaring issues in the squad need to be addressed in the summer, chief among them being the lack of quality and depth in the midfield.
Tottenham beat Aston Villa to sign Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid during the January transfer window. Gallagher hasn’t had the desired impact the fans were hoping for until he played Aston Villa on Sunday evening, when he produced his best performance in a Spurs shirt and netted his first goal for the club. And now the North Londoners are planning to go head-to-head with Aston Villa for the signing of another midfielder.
Tottenham to battle Aston Villa for Parma midfielder
According to a report from Parma Today, Tottenham and Aston Villa are the early frontrunners to sign Parma midfielder Mandela Keita. Atalanta have joined the Premier League duo in the race for the Belgian talent, who is also wanted by Manchester United and Atletico Madrid.
Scouts from Spurs and Villa have been tracking Mandela Keita since March, and that interest hasn’t faded. Keita has been a revelation for Parma since his €15m move from Royal Antwerp in 2024. He’s already made 34 appearances in Serie A this season, bagging an assist.
Parma aren’t under financial pressure to sell the 23-year-old, but the report adds that they won’t block a move if a big enough offer is tabled. So far, no one has made a formal bid. With two more years left on his contract, Parma are in a decent position to demand a substantial fee.
From Tottenham’s perspective, the move for Keita actually makes a lot of sense. De Zerbi loves midfielders who bring technical ability, work rate, physicality and running power, and the Parma star possesses these qualities. The one-cap Belgium international’s tenacity, ball-winning skills and high engine make him well-suited to De Zerbi’s system in N17.
Villa may be targeting a long-term replacement for John McGinn, who will turn 32 in October. The diminutive Scot has struggled with injuries in the last couple of years, and the Midlands club may view Keita as a player to phase McGinn out of the picture gradually. And the Villans’ potential Champions League campaign could prove to be attractive for the 23-year-old.
However, Tottenham’s traditional status as a ‘Big Six’ Premier League club could turn out to be more alluring, especially if Keita is provided with a project to get regular minutes and develop his skills. But for that to happen, the De Zerbi-managed club must stay in the Premier League. Relegation would be catastrophic and certainly make Villa the favourable option for the Parma man.