Tottenham Hotspur are pushing hard to sign new centre-backs this summer after conceding a staggering 63 goals from 38 Premier League games last season. The North London have their sights set on Micky van de Ven, but Paul Brown has told Give Me Sport that Spurs have a contingency plan if they miss out on the VfL Wolfsburg defender.
Tottenham have agreed personal terms with Van de Ven but are £5m off with their valuation of the 22-year-old. Wolfsburg want £30m for their centre-back but Spurs have only bid £25m, as per the report.
Therefore, Ange Postecoglou could end up bringing in Edmond Tapsoba from Bayer Leverkusen if the deal falls through. According to the report, he would cost a little more with a €40m (£34m) asking price though.
However, Brown suggests that with Tottenham looking to sign two centre-backs this summer, they could end up signing both van de Ven and Tapsoba. Both players would cost around £64m so it would be a significant outlay by Spurs.
Brown said: ‘Spurs seem a little further down the line with Van de Ven. They’ve met his people. I understand his personal terms won’t be a problem. It’s purely about agreeing on a fee with his club. That one seems more likely to happen at the moment than Tapsoba. But both of them are on Spurs’ list, and it does look like they might try to sign two centre-backs this summer. So, they may sign them both.’
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Tottenham have Joe Rodon, Cristian Romero, Japhet Tanganga, Davinson Sánchez and Eric Dier to choose from at centre-back, but Sanchez has been short of form in the last year, Tanganga has hardly featured after falling down the pecking order and Rodon was loaned out last season, so only Romero and Dier are expected to stay beyond the summer transfer window.
Galatasaray are one of many clubs trying to sign Sanchez and Fabrizio Romano said days ago that he’ll be granted a departure for the right price. Tanganga has been linked with a move to Luton Town and surely won’t be blocked from leaving as he’s not holding down a starting place. Rodon is expected to leave for regular playing time, so fresh blood is definitely needed.
Signing Van de Ven is a start. The 22-year-old is a regular for Wolfsburg and is adept at turning over the ball (2.2 times per game) while seldom being taken on by his opponents (0.3 dribbles past per game). He’s also composed in possession (88.3%), so he’ll allow Spurs to play out of the back.
As for Tapsoba, the 24-year-old turns over the ball more frequently than Van de Ven (2.6 times per game), is also rarely taken on (0.4 dribbles past per game) and is very comfortable on the ball too (66.4 passes per game). The pair would cost upwards of £60m, however, which Daniel Levy seems reluctant to pay, so time will tell if Tottenham can land at least one of the duo.
