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Tottenham are moving quickly to secure one of Italy’s most promising young defenders, with a report now suggesting an official bid could be imminent.

For most parts of the summer window, there had been talks about whether Tottenham Hotspur would keep hold of one of their best defenders – Cristian Romero.

Romero had been attracting interest from Spanish side Atletico Madrid and even Real Madrid, but those links have since cooled off, with reports claiming Diego Simeone’s side have moved on to other targets.

Still, Tottenham have been linked with more centre-backs, including Illia Zarbanyi, although Fabrizio Romano has tipped Paris Saint-Germain as the main suitors.

Tottenham interested in Giovanni Leoni transfer move

The links to centre-backs continue, as a fresh report from Caughtoffside now claims that Tottenham are close to making an official move for 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni.

The defender currently plies his trade at Serie A club Parma, where he featured 17 times in the Italian first division, scoring one goal and keeping three clean sheets.

It is understood that Tottenham are the ones leading the chase for the Italy Under-19 international, with the report stating that Spurs view the youngster as a cornerstone for their future defensive setup.

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Tottenham, however, are not the only ones in the Premier League showing interest in the centre-back. It has also been revealed that Newcastle United are keen on the 18-year-old, and they too are said to be close to making an official move for Giovanni Leoni.

Parma sets price tag for Giovanni Leoni

With interest in the 18-year-old rife, it is stated that Parma have set a €30–40 million (£25.3m–£33.7m) price tag for their in-demand talent, and they are not looking to accept offers below that.

The defender is also catching the eye of Italian giants, including Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli, and Bologna, who are said to also be tracking Leoni as part of their long-term squad planning.

Spurs, of course, are not ones to be shy to splash the cash on youngsters with huge potential, as we saw last summer with Archie Gray, where Tottenham paid £40 million to lure him to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It would be interesting to see how things pan out with Leoni in the coming weeks, as it is claimed that his name is expected to dominate transfer talks.

Tottenham and Daniel Levy could soon announce multiple commercial deals, which could significantly boost the club’s revenue over the coming years.

Tottenham have spent more aggressively this summer than many people expected them to, particularly after Daniel Levy issued a warning back in March about the Spurs’ unsustainable spending.

Some see this as evidence that ENIC might have invested some money into Tottenham, although the Lilywhites have not made any official announcement on the matter.

Other journalists have discussed the possibility that Spurs expect to sell a minority stake in the club to a third party, with discussions over a potential takeover thought to have been held over recent months.

Tottenham set to be boosted by commercial deals

However, Football Insider have now explained that Tottenham’s financial muscle may not have come via equity, but rather through commercial agreements.

The report claims that Spurs are now in talks over multiple commercial deals after making new hires to help maximise the club’s commercial potential.

The outlet says that the growing influence of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has strengthened the club’s global appeal to sponsors in recent years.

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Daniel Levy and co are now aiming to capitalise on these commercial opportunities and hope to tie up multiple new sponsorship deals.

Tottenham in talks over stadium naming rights deal

Football Insider add that apart from these commercial deals, Tottenham are also holding talks over a lucrative stadium naming rights deal for their stadium.

The outlet claims that Levy is currently holding out for a deal worth in excess of £20m per year for the naming rights of the stadium.

Tottenham’s hopes of offloading an experienced star have received a blow as Juventus, who were previously keen on the player, have now decided against signing him.

Tottenham have completed three signings so far this summer and would have added another player in Morgan Gibbs-White, but his move to Spurs has been held up by controversial circumstances.

However, the Lilywhites have not managed to shift any of their deadwood as of yet, with the likes of Manor Solomon, Bryan Gil and others still at the club.

Additionally, it has been reported over recent weeks that Tottenham are working to find a buyer for Yves Bissouma, who has only one year left on his contract.

Several Italian outlets had previously claimed that Juventus are eyeing a move for Bissouma after hearing that he is surplus to requirements at Spurs.

Juventus are no longer expected to land Yves Bissouma

It had previously been alleged that Juve’s general manager, Damien Comolli, could use his relationship with Daniel Levy to land Bissouma, with the Frenchman having previously served as Tottenham’s director of football.

However, a new report in Gazzetta dello Sport has claimed that the Bianconeri are now not expected to make a move for the Spurs star.

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This is because they only have one non-EU spot remaining in their squad, and that is expected to be filled by Nahuel Molina, who is on the verge of moving to the Turin club from Atletico Madrid.

As a result, the idea of signing Bissouma from Tottenham Hotspur is ‘furthest away’, with the Serie A club instead expected to turn to options such as Fulham’s Sander Berge.

Why Tottenham need to get rid of Yves Bissouma swiftly

It has been claimed by Alasdair Gold and others that Tottenham want to offload a midfielder before they can sign a number six.

Juventus cooling their interest in the Mali international may thus delay the Lilywhites’ pursuit of a defensive midfielder.

A Premier League centre-back, who has been on Tottenham’s radar for a while, is thought to be on the verge of signing a new contract.

Even though Cristian Romero now looks likely to stay at Tottenham, various centre-backs continue to be linked with a move to N17.

That includes a pacy French centre-back, who has been on Spurs’ radar from the start of the calendar year, according to some sources.

It was previously claimed that Tottenham had an offer of just over £20m turned down for Burnley centre-back Maxime Esteve in January.

The 23-year-old was one of the best defenders on show in the Championship last term, and he played a key role in the Clarets’ promotion, which Scott Parker’s men secured mainly thanks to their solid defence.

Tottenham receive Maxime Esteve transfer blow

Despite Burnley’s promotion, some reports have claimed over recent weeks that Tottenham could try again to raid Turf Moor for Esteve, who is thought to be valued by the Clarets at £50m.

However, Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas has now revealed that the newly promoted side have moved to protect their star man’s value amidst the interest that he is generating.

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According to Thomas, Esteve is now on the verge of signing a new long-term deal at Burnley, which could end Tottenham Hotspur’s chances of swooping for the former Montpellier man this summer.

Which other centre-backs are Spurs looking at?

According to various outlets, Tottenham continue to remain interested in Marc Guehi, who Crystal Palace are ready to listen to offers for.

Some sources have suggested that Spurs are ready to spend big on Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, while it has also been claimed that the Lilywhites have held talks over a deal for Genoa’s Koni De Winter.

Tottenham Hotspur will accept a cut-price fee from LAFC for Heung-min Son this summer as the Major League Soccer club steps up their pursuit of the Spurs captain.

It emerged a couple of days ago that LAFC are stepping up their pursuit of Heung-min Son and are determined to get him through the door this summer.

Since then, the situation has developed rapidly, with Son alleged to have held talks with the American club over a summer transfer.

On Thursday, it was reported that LAFC had launched their opening offer for the Spurs captain, although it is unclear how much their bid is worth.

Tottenham set new Heung-min Son asking price

The Sun have now become the latest outlet to report on LAFC’s approach for Son, and they claim that the Lilywhites do not want big money for the forward, who is now into the final year of his contract.

The outlet says that Tottenham Hotspur will consider selling the South Korean if the MLS side make a £15m bid, with the North Londoners hoping to collect £15m-£20m for their star man this summer.

However, it is made clear that it is the forward who will make the final decision on whether to make the move across the pond, with the player not ruling out staying at Tottenham and fighting for his place under Thomas Frank.

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The outlet adds that Son is currently involved in discussions with all parties over his future.

Son will not leave Spurs within the next two weeks

Even if the forward greenlights a move to the United States, he will not be making the move within the next couple of weeks.

This is because Tottenham are contractually obliged to include Son in their pre-season trip to South Korea, where they take on Newcastle United in a friendly.

Mathys Tel has now shared what he did ahead of his permanent move to Tottenham Hotspur to get an understanding of how Thomas Frank will set the team up.

Tel became Tottenham’s first signing of the Thomas Frank era, with the Lilywhites paying £30m to land him permanently from Bayern Munich.

The North Londoners saw enough to take a punt on the 20-year-old, even though he only scored three goals in 20 appearances for the club in his loan spell during the second half of last season.

The forward did show glimpses of his quality last season, and Spurs fans will take heart from Tel’s impressive showing in the European Under-21 Championship, and hope that he can replicate those performances in a Tottenham shirt.

Mathys Tel did not speak to Thomas Frank before Tottenham move

The fact that Ange Postecoglou had been replaced did not deter the Frenchman from agreeing to a move to N17, and interestingly, the forward has revealed that he did not even speak to Frank before making the switch.

However, Tel admitted that he watched videos of Brentford matches to gain an understanding of how Frank will set Tottenham Hotspur up.

When asked if he spoke to the Danish coach before greenlighting a permanent move to N17, the 20-year-old told Sky Sports: “No, but I watched some games last year of Brentford, I just watched to get [an idea of] how they play.”

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Thomas Frank is excited about Tel’s potential at Spurs

The new Spurs head coach might not have spoken to the forward prior to his transfer, but the former Brentford boss certainly approved his arrival.

We know this because following the forward’s permanent switch, Frank said he is very excited about Tel’s arrival, and admitted that he is keen to work with the forward to improve his all-around game.

As the speculation linking Kobbie Mainoo with a move to Tottenham Hotspur gathers steam, the midfielder may have already hinted at what he feels about the North London side.

We know that Tottenham are looking to add another central midfielder to their squad, and many different players have been mooted as targets for the Lilywhites over the last few weeks.

The likes of Joao Palhinha, Douglas Luiz and Joao Gomes have been linked with a move to N17, but over recent days, a new name has also been mentioned by various reports.

Some journalists have claimed that Kobbie Mainoo is on Tottenham’s radar as Man United continue to struggle to reach an agreement with the midfielder over a new contract.

Kobbie Mainoo’s Instagram post suggests he has a soft spot for Tottenham

According to some sources, Mainoo is emerging as a realistic target for Spurs, particularly as he is keen to get regular football ahead of a World Cup year, which he might not under Rubem Amorim at Old Trafford.

It turns out that the 20-year-old hinted at the start of the summer that he had a soft spot for Tottenham Hotspur as a kid.

Back in April, Kobbie Mainoo posted an image of himself as a child wearing a retro Spurs shirt.

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Mainoo was celebrating his 20th birthday and posted an old image on his Instagram wearing Tottenham’s third kit from the 1995-96 season.

Spurs are pushing ahead with talks over experienced midfielder

Over recent days, a number of outlets have claimed that Spurs are holding talks with Bayern Munich over a deal for Joao Palhinha, who Thomas Frank is said to be a fan of.

Palhinha is reportedly available for €25m (£21.6m) this summer as Vincent Kompany has deemed him surplus to requirements at the Allianz Arena.

Tottenham Hotspur played out a 0-0 draw with Luton Town at the Kenilworth Stadium on Saturday after in their second match of their pre-season double header.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from the game:

Guglielmo Vicario and Antonin Kinsky share minutes again for Tottenham

It was a rather drab ninety minutes of football from Tottenham Hotspur, who completed their second pre-season tie of the day in what was a back-to-back schedule.

There was not much to discuss from this clash in terms of standout moments. However, one detail did stand out – Thomas Frank once again chose to split the goalkeeping duties between his two primary options.

Last weekend, Frank handed 45 minutes to Guglielmo Vicario and another 45 to Antonin Kinsky in the clash against Reading.

While that was understandable, given it was the opening fixture of pre-season and an opportunity to give everyone a run-out, today’s decision was slightly more surprising.

Tottenham had already faced Wycombe Wanderers earlier in the day, so it would have made sense for either Vicario or Kinsky to play the full 90 minutes, or at least 60, with Brandon Austin or Luca Gunter finishing off the match.

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Instead, Austin played the full game earlier on, while Vicario and Kinsky again split the second match evenly. The goalkeeper situation is one to keep an eye on – perhaps Frank’s first-choice between the sticks is not quite nailed on just yet.

Tottenham still have several missing players

While Frank was able to rotate almost the entire squad over the two friendlies, Tottenham Hotspur still have several notable absentees who are yet to feature in pre-season.

James Maddison, for one, returned to training earlier in the week but was not deemed fit enough for match action and sat out once again. Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski also remain sidelined, still working their way back from injury.

Dominic Solanke was expected to feature today but picked up a knock, while Rodrigo Bentancur missed out due to illness.

These issues do not appear serious, and the expectation is that all, aside from Dragusin and Kulusevski, should be available for the upcoming tour of Asia, where Spurs will continue their pre-season preparations.

Mikey Moore deployed in the number 10 role for Spurs

In this tie against Luton Town, Thomas Frank once more continued his tactical experiment of fielding two players in advanced central roles.

Previously against Reading, Mikey Moore and Alfie Devine were deployed as dual tens. This time around, Moore again started in that position but struggled to influence proceedings in the way he would have hoped.

It is a notable departure from his usage under former manager Ange Postecoglou, who typically deployed Moore out wide. We may be witnessing the early stages of a positional shift for the youngster in the Tottenham first-team setup.

Tottenham’s lack of full-back depth exposed again

Many would have raised an eyebrow when Jamie Donley slotted in at full-back to replace Destiny Udogie, who was withdrawn during the game.

This adjustment clearly affected Thomas Frank’s structure, as Yves Bissouma had to function as the pivot while also providing cover at right-back.

Donley, meanwhile, appeared to drift into the left-hand half spaces in midfield, while Brennan Johnson operated as a touchline winger tasked with stretching play and providing width.

The fact that Spurs could not call on a natural left-back to replace Udogie highlights just how threadbare their full-back options currently are. Injuries to Pedro Porro, Ben Davies or Udogie could leave Tottenham scrambling for emergency solutions once competitive matches begin.

There has been talk of Spurs looking to bring in another full-back, and today’s match reinforced why that must be a priority.

Spurs continue to struggle against low defensive blocks

A second clean sheet in three pre-season matches may be seen as a major positive for Tottenham Hotspur.

However, the goalless draw against Luton Town underlined one glaring issue that has persisted from last season – Spurs’ ongoing struggle to break down deep defensive blocks.

Luton were compact throughout the ninety minutes, happy to defend in numbers and limit the space for Tottenham’s wingers to operate in.

The League One outfit doubled up on the likes of Brennan Johnson and Mohammed Kudus, preventing them from making a real impact.

With several of Spurs’ creative players missing, Tottenham lacked incision and struggled to fashion clear chances.

This is something that must be addressed ahead of the new Premier League campaign, as stronger opposition will not only frustrate them defensively but also have the quality to punish them on the break.

A signing like Morgan Gibbs-White could help add that final-third spark, particularly when James Maddison or Dejan Kulusevski are not on the pitch.

Spurs have now completed their final match in England before heading off to Asia for the next leg of their pre-season tour. The game at Luton Town was hardly a classic, but let’s take a look at our Tottenham player ratings.

It was another chance for Thomas Frank to assess his squad and offer opportunities to players hoping to force their way into his plans ahead of the new campaign.

Tottenham full-time player ratings vs Luton Town

Guglielmo Vicario – After a solid first-half display, Vicario was replaced by Antonin Kinsky in the second half. 7.

Djed Spence – Not the most convincing display from Spence on the right, as he struggled to deal with some of Luton Town’s attacking play on that side of the pitch. 5.

Micky van de Ven – A steady if unspectacular showing from the Dutchman, who was rarely troubled but did not overly impose himself either. 6.

Kevin Danso – Danso was subbed off in the 63rd minute for Junai Byfield, leaving the field with a clean sheet to his name, after offering support to Spence on the right when he was caught out. 7.

Jamie Donley – A very quiet second half from the young midfielder, who did not see much of the ball and had little effect on the game. 5.

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Yves Bissouma – Bissouma showed some versatility in this clash, as he had to fill in at right back during the build-up and as a pivot midfielder, while also covering on the right when Tottenham were defending. Solid all-round display. 8.

Archie Gray – Gray looked to dictate the tempo of the game in the deeper role, as he aims to convince Frank to trust him ahead of the new season. He tried to look after the ball well in midfield when under pressure and also often looked to spray long balls to the wingers. 7.

Mikey Moore – Moore looked to get on the ball a lot more in the second half, but he often received it deep in midfield, as he searched for space outside of Luton’s low block. 5.

Mathys Tel – The Frenchman did not have that many chances in the second forty-five, but often looked to drop deep to get on the ball and offer another option during Spurs’ build-up. 5.

Brennan Johnson – A quiet second half from Johnson, who failed to affect play on the left wing. Often struggled to get beyond his man on that side. Had a shot in the box later in the second half, but it was saved by the Luton goalkeeper 5.

Mohammed Kudus – Struggled to create on the right of the Tottenham attack, as Luton Town often doubled up on him, limiting his creativity and effect on the game. 6.

Substitutes

Antonin Kinsky – Replaced Guglielmo Vicario in the second half and was quickly called into action following a well-driven volley from Luton Town early on. The Czech international showed his shot-stopping ability by dealing with it effectively. 7.

Junai Byfield – Replaced Kevin Danso in the second half and slotted in well alongside Micky van de Ven at the heart of defence. Looked comfortable with the ball at his feet. 7.

Alfie Devine – N/A.

Callum Olusesi – N/A.

Rio Kyerematen – N/A.

Yang Min-Hyeok – N/A.

Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny – N/A.

Will Lankshear – Came on late in the second half and had a chance in the closing stages of the game, but it was put wide. N/A

James Rowswell – N/A

A Serie A star is wanted by West Ham United and a host of other clubs in the Premier League, but Tottenham Hotspur are aware that he prefers a move to N17.

As Spurs try to resolve their legal battle with Nottingham Forest over Morgan Gibbs-White, it has been widely reported over recent days that Tottenham are now turning their attention to signing a number six.

It emerged earlier this month that Spurs have expressed an interest in bringing Douglas Luiz back to the Premier League after the midfielder expressed a desire to leave Juventus.

However, over recent days, some sources have claimed that West Ham are now plotting a move for Luiz, who is valued at around €23m-€25m (£19.8m-£21.6m).

Douglas Luiz prefers a move to Tottenham over West Ham

TBR Football have now confirmed that the Hammers are ‘pushing hard’ to sign the former Aston Villa star, who is not happy in Turin.

Graham Potter’s men are looking to complete as cheap a deal as possible and would prefer to land the 27-year-old on an initial loan deal with an option to make it permanent.

However, the outlet asserts that Luiz would prefer to move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the London Stadium.

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It is further revealed that Spurs officials are aware of the Juve star’s desire to join them, but the report does not say if Thomas Frank’s men are expected to press forward with an offer for the former Premier League star.

Three other Premier League clubs also want Luiz

TBR Football say that West Ham are currently in the process of offloading Guido Rodriguez so that they can free up space for Luiz’s arrival.

The East London club are said to be making inroads in their negotiations with the Binaconeri, but Nottingham Forest are also speaking to the midfielder.

Additionally, Everton are now ‘pushing very hard’ to land Luiz, while Fulham have also enquired about the 27-year-old’s situation.