Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly battling with Liverpool over a deal to sign Brentford star Nathan Collins, as per Caught Offside.
After finishing 17th in the Premier League last campaign, the Lilywhites decided to part ways with Ange Postecoglou, and Thomas Frank was appointed as the new manager.
The Australian boss helped Spurs win the Europa League, which secured their place in the Champions League, but it wasn’t enough to keep him at his job.
After appointing Frank as the new manager, it was thought that Tottenham would be looking to make several new acquisitions to help the Danish boss perform well this season.
However, they had a tough summer window, signing only Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons permanently. Apart from that, they made Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso’s loan move permanent, while Randal Kolo Muani and João Palhinha have joined on a loan deal.
Tottenham struggled with defensive frailties last term, but they decided not to go for any defender to address this issue in the recently concluded summer window.
Now, Caught Offside claim that Spurs are planning to make a move for a new defender in January, and Collins is on their radar. Frank previously worked with the 24-year-old at Gtech Community Stadium and is willing to reunite.
Battle
Tottenham believe Collins would be an ideal option to strengthen the defence as he is a leader. The former Burnley man still has four years left in his current contract, and Brentford want at least £43m for him, but they might not want to let him leave in mid-season.
However, Tottenham will face competition as Liverpool are also interested in him, while Man Utd are keen, so the Irishman isn’t short of potential suitors having showcased his qualities in the Premier League in recent times.
The Reds decided to let Jarell Quansah leave and were willing to sign two new centre-backs in the window. They purchased Giovanni Leoni from Parma and were on the verge of sealing a deadline-day move to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.
However, the move eventually fell through. As a result, Arne Slot has been left with Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, and Leoni as CB options.
Konate picked up an injury against Arsenal last weekend, while Gomez has had fitness problems in recent years. On the other hand, Leoni is still very young and needs time to develop. So, Liverpool are short in defence.
It remains to be seen whether Tottenham or Liverpool eventually make a concrete approach to sign Collins in January.