Tottenham Hotspur, ahead of an all-important Premier League campaign, could yet reinforce their midfield engine room as the summer transfer window comes to a close, while transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, while speaking exclusively to SPORT, suggested that Giovani Lo Celso’s sale could speed up the process.
Ange Postecoglou is heading into his second season at the helm of the north Londoners. During his maiden term in charge, Tottenham mounted a very premature title charge before falling victim to a host of injuries, which saw them eventually finish in fifth place – just two points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa.
So far this summer, Tottenham have been relatively busy. Dominic Solanke has arrived as their marquee acquisition, while the likes of 18-year-old duo Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have already been snared.
The latter duo are both central midfielders by trade but a lack of experience at the top level could prevent them from being regular fixtures in their maiden campaigns.
Yves Bissouma and Pape Mate Sarr are, therefore, expected to keep their place at the base of midfield, while Rodrigo Bentancur is poised to earn more minutes in a less injury-struck season for the Uruguayan.
That hasn’t prevented Tottenham from scouring the market for additional reinforcements with Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey being identified as a potential option. In fact, according to Romano, Postecoglou and Unai Emery are discussing a potential player swap deal including the Englishman and Lo Celso.
Speaking to SPORT exclusively, the ever-reliable Romano has suggested that Postecoglou and Co are keen to consider other positions – especially in midfield – before the summer trading period reaches its conclusion. Insisting that Lo Celso’s departure, combined with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s move to Marseille, could prompt the capital club into action, the football insider said:
“I think they will look at something in the midfield.”
“From what I’m hearing, they will consider other positions [than right-back]. So,let’s see in the midfield what happens. I think it’s also important to understand what’s going to happen withLo Celso, because if Lo Celso leavesafter Hoiberg, it could be the case for Tottenham to do something in that position.”
With Solanke now providing firepower at the top of the pitch for Spurs, they are reportedly keen on signing the fleet-footed Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich this summer in order to provide the Englishman with direct runners off the ball.
According to journalist Steve Kay, speaking on KS1 TV, the two parties boast a positive relationship thanks to having negotiated deals for both Harry Kane and Eric Dier in recent transfer windows and, as such, a deal could be relatively simple to strike.
Before last season, Kingsley Coman had won the league title in every season of his senior career, totalling to 11 in a row.
Whether Coman, a 57-cap France international, would be open to a move – which could potentially be an initial loan – or not, however, remains to be seen. Last term, the 28-year-old totted up just 1,737 minutes of action across all competitions.
