Tottenham are now prepared to pay the £38 million asking price for a Euro 2024 star this summer, after pressing forward with intent “in recent days”.
Spurs looking to sign new defenders this summer
With Ryan Sessegnon, Japhet Tanganga, Ivan Perisic, Eric Dier and potentially Djed Spence out of the door already, Spurs are believed to be targeting defensive additions this summer, in an effort to hand Ange Postecoglou more strength in depth.
Sessegnon, Tanganga, Perisic and Dier are set to leave Spurs following the expiry of their contracts on June 30, while Spence is in talks over a permanent switch from Spurs to Genoa after spending the second half of 23/24 on loan there.
AC Milan are also actively pursuing a deal for Emerson Royal as well, and with the Brazilian looking likely to leave N17, Postecoglou’s defence could look a bit different by the start of next campaign.
With Royal’s move to Italy looking like a possibility, Tottenham could sign a new Pedro Porro back-up this summer, and it is believed that another centre-back is high up on their transfer agenda.
Spurs sealed a £25 million deal for Radu Dragusin in January, but it remains the case that they’re after central defensive options to shore up Postecoglou’s back line further.
| Tottenham’s best-performing defenders in the league last season | Average match rating (via WhoScored) |
| Pedro Porro | 7.04 |
| Cristian Romero | 7.03 |
| Micky van de Ven | 6.79 |
| Destiny Udogie | 6.71 |
| Ben Davies | 6.62 |
The Australian, speaking to media earlier this year, even admitted that it would be one of their priorities for this window.
“If you’re saying, ‘Is it an area we can strengthen?’, yes it’s an area we will probably look at”, said Postecoglou on signing another centre-back. “With all these things, it’s about trying to strengthen the group as much as anything else.
“If you think about when I first arrived, we had maybe six or seven centre-backs at the club. So it’s not just numbers. It’s more about the ability of those players to play the football we want and to fit in to what we’re trying to build here.
“I think it is an area of the park we will look to strengthen, but I think we’ll look to strengthen all areas of the park come the end of the season. That is planning that’s already underway, and other people are in charge of it at the moment.”
Tottenham prepared to pay asking price for Calafiori
According to Tutto Juve, an update has emerged on their pursuit of Euro 2024 star Riccardo Calafiori. The Italy centre-back was called “extraordinary” by Gianluca Zambrotta for his performance against Albania in their opening group game, and was unfortunate for the ball to deflect off him and into the back of his own net during their 1-0 defeat to Spain on Thursday.
Tutto claim Spurs have moved to evaluate the conditions of a move for the 22-year-old “in recent days”, and it is believed Tottenham are prepared to pay Bologna’s £38 million asking price for Calafiori.
However, they still have some convincing to do on the player’s side, as it is believed he prefers a move to Juventus right now.
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