Parma’s Mandela Keita is on Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa’s radar.
On New Year’s Eve, Sport Witness covered claims from Italy that a Spurs scout watched the 23-year-old. Aston Villa have now joined Thomas Frank’s side in the transfer chase.
That’s according to Parma Today, who report several Premier League sides, including Tottenham and Unai Emery’s side, are following the Belgian.
The Belgian joined the Serie A side from Royal Antwerp in August 2024.
His performances for his former club had helped him make debut for the national team in October 2023. He hasn’t featured for De Rode Duivels and last received a call up in June 2024.
Belgian impressing with recent performances
Keita made 24 league starts last season and already has 22 starts this season. The outlet uses his recent performances against Juventus, Atalanta and Bologna as examples to highlight his importance for manager Carlos Cuesta.
His performances haven’t gone unnoticed in England, where Tottenham and Aston Villa are among the player’s suitors.
According to the report, the Europa League winners have been monitoring the Belgian for a while. It would mean the north London club’s official continue to scout him closely. This puts Spurs ahead of the Villa Park club, even though the latter recently joined the chase.
Tottenham and Aston Villa face Serie A competition
Keita is also attracting interest from Serie A where Napoli have been following him from his spell at Royal Antwerp.
The Belgian has a contract until 2029. According to the report, Parma would need at least €25m to start negotiations for his potential sale in the summer.
Their title says ‘Premier League awaits him’. However, there isn’t anything within the report backing Tottenham or Aston Villa planning to make advances. For now, the two English clubs seem to be keeping a close watch on Keita.
Meanwhile, Belgium manager Rudi Garcia has Keita on his radar ahead of the upcoming international break.