It’s the first Thursday in June. Did you think there’d be news on the managerial front? Oh, you sweet summer child. And because Fabio Paratici hasn’t officially started, we’re still more or less encased in Johan Lange’s Black Box of Impenetrable Transfer News so even the transfer rumors are pretty sketch.
Because of that, I feel it’s warranted to dive deeper into the wilds of Bat Country and perhaps take a look at a source we might normally dismiss. In this case, it’s Inter Milan blog InterLive, which says Tottenham have a concrete interest in Inter’s 24-year-old German CB Yann Aurel Bisseck.
I’ll be honest here and say that Bisseck is a target that has been familiar with the members of Carty Free Towers’ Slack channel, to the point where a few people have been actively trying to manifest Tottenham’s interest in him for some time. Does a rumor in an Inter blog count as manifestation? Well, it’s a start, and we have no plans to stop at this point.
Bisseck, 24, has been sort of in and out of favor at the San Siro this past season. At 24, the German international is entering his prime years, and while he’s been pretty good when he’s played, Inter seem to be willing to entertain offers for him this summer. That may or may not be because of Simone Inzaghi heading out to get his bag in Saudi Arabia, but hey — we’ll take it.
Take a look at those green bars. Pretty, pretty good. Under Inzaghi, Inter mostly played with a back three, and Bisseck was often a right sided CB in that formation. He hasn’t played a ton in a back two, but he definitely has the tools to do so — he’s a cat-style defender who anticipates passing lanes and can string a good forward pass himself. He’s got very good recovery speed so playing in a high defensive line shouldn’t be an issue. He also has some experience playing as a right back, which makes him somewhat positionally flexibile.
And that’s the key here. Because I know some of you are reading this and saying “Hey, we already have a backup right sided CB, it’s Kevin Danso” and you’re right. What we DON’T have (with apologies to Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin) is a solid left sided CB. Now, if Spurs were to sell Romero this summer, Bisseck would be a natural replacement. But even if we keep Romero, it’s worth taking a long look at him.
Consider: there are plenty of games to play next season, which means it won’t be difficult at all for Bisseck to get minutes. He will play lots at RCB no matter what, and could even play at LB beside Danso (or Danso at LB beside Bisseck) if needed. He could also be used as a backup right back, especially since Djed Spence weirdly looked more comfortable on the left this past season than on the right. Ange Postecoglou likes his positionally flexible players, and Bisseck gives you that. Yes, it makes us a little heavy at the RCB position, but buying a solid defender and a flex RB/RCB like Bisseck would still make a great deal of sense, especially if a solid LCB option doesn’t emerge in the transfer window.
Also — according to this admittedly not especially great sourcing, Inter would be willing to consider offers of €40m (£33.6m). Any move would take place after the Club World Cup, probably because he picked up a thigh injury in the Champions League final vs. PSG. Manchester United and West Ham are also both apparently interested.
For that price, you buy Bisseck as soon as he’s healthy and can pass a physical, and figure the rest out later. He’d probably need some time to bed in and adjust to the pace of the Premier League but that’s likely the case for just about everyone we’d buy from the continent. For this player and that price, I say go for it.