Tottenham should be looking to spend far less as they look to recruit at the back.
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Tottenham should be moving to sign a Premier League title winner over a more pricey option they are reportedly interested in. Thomas Frank will be delighted with how his side has started the season, and particularly with the statement away win over Manchester City on Saturday.
But sustaining that level of performance while also juggling a Champions League campaign could be a tricky prospect, at least without the help of more bodies. As Tottenham saw last season, a bad run of injuries can quite easily cripple a team’s season, and they won’t want to run the risk of that happening again.
One of the areas Tottenham will be particularly paranoid about is the centre-back spot, given last season’s events, while Radu Dragusin is also out for at least a few more months, reducing the level of cover available.
Reports emerged on Monday claiming that Bayer Leverkusen star Piero Hincapie is of interest to the North London club, with a reported price tag of around £51million on the table. Though, it’s claimed Spurs would pursue a loan with an option to buy in a bid to keep their books ticking over.
Arsenal are also said to be interested, albeit they would likely need a couple of significant sales first due to their big spending this summer, but Spurs should be looking elsewhere in any case.
Spurs should look elsewhere
Tottenham are only realistically looking for a high quality back-up at this stage, given Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are the clear starters, and while it’s good to have intense competition, the Lilywhites have too many other areas in need of strengthening to be spending so much to have a starting calibre player on the bench.
The ideal signing would be Manchester City man Manuel Akanji, who is said to be on the move this summer, and for the bargain price of just £15million. Crystal Palace have been linked with a move as they contemplate replacing Marc Guehi, who is likely to leave, while Leverkusen could also move for the experienced defender if Hincapie leaves.
Fabrizio Romano has reported: “Manuel Akanji’s future will be discussed in the next days. Galatasaray agreed £15m deal with Man City but still no green light from the player. He’s also on Bayer Leverkusen shortlist if Piero Hincapié joins Arsenal.”
Akanji is now 30 years of age, hence the price, and he would be an ideal player for Spurs to sign, given he is good enough to compete for a starting job but not at his peak to the point of costing silly money.
Previously praising Akanji, Pep Guardiola said: “He trained one day and a half with us, but he showed what experience he has at Dortmund and what a good central defender Manchester City brought to us,” Guardiola declared. He has quality similar like Aymer (Laporte) - he can break the lines with the pass.
“Manuel is really intelligent and great with the ball. City brought me and the club a fantastic player. He’s a fantastic age at 27 and mature so yeah, really good. He reads really well the spaces, and I am very pleased for him.”