Tottenham Hotspur have a bit of a central midfield problem. Their two most senior players, Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma, both have only one year remaining on their contracts and both are in their late twenties. As such, Spurs are likely looking to move one (or both) on, with Bissouma indicated as the most likely mover.
Thus far, links to possible destinations have been relatively quiet through the summer, but a number of tenuous links have begun to filter through for the Malian, with Juventus and Lille mooted as possible destinations:
Intriguingly, Dean Jones writing for GiveMeSport labels the links to Juve an “Exclusive”; however, the Italian media actually first indicated the possibility of a transfer to Turin via La Gazetta Dello Sport a couple of days ago. This could mean Jones has a different source to the Italian rags; it could also mean the whole thing is junk. It does seem like there is a little bit of smoke here, though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the different reports originate from different places.
Both pieces have a couple of interesting takeaways. The Italian story indicates the Juventus interest is being driven specifically by their GM, Damien Comolli, Spurs’ former Director of Football. It’s this history that Gazetta ponders could aid negotiations, claiming that Comolli has an excellent relationship with Daniel Levy from his time at the club, and that he hopes he can perhaps secure Bissouma for less than Spurs’ suggested valuation of €15-20 million. It then goes on to note a couple of potential complications in any deal, with Juventus’ squad limitations meaning a Bissouma signing could possibly scupper further overseas signings, as well as competing interest from other (English) clubs.
GiveMeSport’s article is somewhat more circumspect about the Italian club’s interest, indicating Spurs are trying to create a market for the player (which... yeah) and that Juventus aren’t really interested in a bidding war. Jones mentions as well that Bissouma’s agents are shopping him around a few clubs, and that his former club Lille are interested on bringing Yves back to France.
All in all, there’s not much new here - but it does sound like good news for Spurs, with a number of clubs likely interested in Bissouma who at this point seems a little like the odd man out. It’s been a somewhat turbulent time at the club for the midfielder, who showed several glimpses of the heights he could achieve, but continued to be plagued by inconsistency and off-field issues. He also had a close relationship with Ange Postecoglou, so after securing a European trophy and seeing his mentor move on, it seems like the right time for a fresh start for both player and club.