Arsenal
Arsenal & Tottenham In Battle To Sign French Defender
Arsenal and Tottenham will face a battle with Barcelona over the signature of highly-rated Toulouse defender Issa Diop this summer
The transfer window is closed but managers are working hard on their plans for the summer so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, the latest on Issa Diop…
Arsenal and Tottenham will face a battle with Barcelona over the signature of highly-rated Toulouse defender Issa Diop this summer, according to reports in Spain via Calciomercato.
Diop has been with Toulouse his entire career having joined the club as a youngster and progressed through the youth ranks before breaking in to the first team set-up in 2015.
The 21-year-old is now an established member of the starting eleven at the Stadium de Toulouse and he’s racked up 31 appearances in all competitions so far this season for the Ligue 1 outfit.
Diop is considered as one of the most promising young centre-backs in French football and he’s also making strides at international level having represented France at every youth level from U16 to U21.
His potential has caught the attention of clubs here in the Premier League as Calciomercato claim that Arsenal and Tottenham have shown a keen interest in signing Diop ahead of the summer window.
Arsene Wenger is in the market for a new defender as Per Mertesacker is retiring while Laurent Koscielny has struggled to shake-off an Achilles injury this season and Diop is seemingly on his radar.
Mauricio Pochettino could also be in need of a new central defender with Toby Alderweireld’s future in serious doubt so Tottenham could be eyeing Diop as a potential replacement.
However, the north Londoners will face stiff competition for his signature as Calciomercato are citing reports from Don Balon that claim Barcelona have joined the chase to sign the Toulouse star.
The Catalan giants are sweating over the future of Samuel Umtiti as talks over a new deal have stalled so the report says Barca have lined-up Diop as a potential replacement for the Frenchman.
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Diop is under contract until 2020 so Toulouse may feel it’s best to cash-in this summer rather than see his value drop considerably in 2019 and it looks like Arsenal, Tottenham and Barcelona are ready to battle-it-out over his signature.
