Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have followed West Ham United in showing interest in US Lecce’s Tiago Gabriel.
Two months ago, Gazzetta dello Sport reported Lecce rejected West Ham’s €18m bid for the centre-back and requested €25m. On January 3rd, Lecce president Sticchi Damiani said he would like to keep Gabriel.
The president’s admission and the Serie A side rejecting West Ham’s bid hasn’t put off Thomas Frank’s side or Newcastle United. Italian journalist Rudy Galetti took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to cover a short report on the Portuguese defender.
According to him, Tottenham and Eddie Howe’s side appreciate the 21-year-old. The two English clubs will keep a close watch on him in the coming months.
Recent claims had also mentioned AFC Bournemouth and Brentford interest. Galetti claims Crystal Palace and Everton recently made contact over a possible move.
Gabriel’s agents may be at work, with more clubs being added on a weekly basis. Tottenham and Newcastle United are now dragged into the mix, and the hype has moved up a notch.
That said, interest would make sense considering the current situations with centre-backs at the two clubs.
Tottenham and Newcastle United may find Tiago Gabriel useful
Newcastle’s Fabian Schär, Dan Burn and Jamaal Lascelles are currently out due to injuries. This leaves Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw as the only fit centre-backs.
Meanwhile, AS Roma are keen on signing Tottenham’s Radu Drăgușin in this window. His agent has been waiting for Spurs’ final approval, however, that hasn’t arrived yet.
Tiago Gabriel arrived at Lecce late in the January 2025. He cost the Serie A club around €1m and was something of a gamble.
That gamble has quickly paid off, and would have presented a huge profit even at West Ham’s offer level. The defender arrived from Estrela Amadora, having joined them after spending multiple years in the famed Sporting CP youth system.
He’s represented by CAA Base, who have multiple high-profile clients at Tottenham, subsequently Spurs may have an advantage.