Tottenham Hotspur are set to ramp up their search for new defensive options as Ange Postecoglou settles into his new job.
As a matter of urgency the club are looking to unveil a new goalkeeper and centre-back—ideally in time for their pre-season tour.
First team players begin to return to training on July 1 but the focus of the summer will be their big trip – firstly in Australia, with the first match scheduled for July 18 against West Ham United.Spurs are keen not to be drawn into paying top-shelf prices at the moment, a case displayed in their pursuit of Brentford’s David Raya, who is rated by the Bees at £40million.
The club are opening up to other goalkeepers right now and that is also the case at the heart of their defence where sources believe the chances of landing Marc Guehi currently look slim.
Latest news out of the club is that a move for Guehi is likely to hit the bumpers as they are going to struggle to meet the demands of Crystal Palace.
A deal to land him is expected to exceed £50million, sources say, and that is likely to prove beyond Spurs at this moment.
They have had a keen interest in the 22-year-old England International, who spent time with Chelsea earlier in his career as a youth player.
Consistenly strong displays at Palace have put him on the radar of Spurs – as well as Arsenal – yet the Eagles are determined to fight for him and would insist on a high fee for him if there was to be any talk at all of a transfer.
Guehi has to think carefully about his career path at this moment as regular game time is critical ahead of fulfilling his England ambitions ahead of Euro 2024, which will be hosted in Germany on the back of next season.
The Gunners are also likely to be deterred by Guehi’s current valuation, at a moment when they look towards Ajax’s Jurrien Timber as a potential new option.
Meanwhile Spurs have been linked with Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, the 25-year-old centre back who is being made available this summer as no new contract is on the cards as his current deal begins to run down. However, sources close to the club are also playing down that link in this moment.
Other names on Tottenham’s radar up to now are Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni, 6ft 5 Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen – who has previously been compared to Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano – and Max Kilman of Wolves – but not all of their targets pre-Postecoglou stand up to the new requirements needed at the heart of the defence for next season.
