Tottenham are considering a potential £21 million signing this summer, following a rave review from some of Fabio Paratici's personal contacts.
Postecoglou eyeing new centre-back for Spurs
Despite bringing in Radu Dragusin to the tune of £25 million in January, it remains the case that Spurs and manager Ange Postecoglou are keen to add another new centre-back to their ranks this summer.
Tottenham now eyeing move to sign "intelligent" £50m+ Hojbjerg replacement
He’s a player in demand.
ByTom CunninghamApr 29, 2024
As we've seen time and time again this season, injuries can seriously weaken Postecoglou's starting eleven, and the latest victims of this have been star left-back Destiny Udogie, centre-back Ben Davies and Timo Werner – who will all miss the remainder of 2023/2024.
Earlier this season, both Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were also unavailable for large parts due to either injury or suspension, with Spurs often struggling to deal with their absences.
If the Lilywhites are to continue their growth under Postecoglou, strength in depth on par with England's elite is absolutely necessary, and the Tottenham boss is on record stating that he wishes to bring in another centre-half this summer.
“If you’re saying, ‘Is it an area we can strengthen?’, yes it’s an area we will probably look at”, said Postecoglou on signing another centre-back.
“With all these things, it’s about trying to strengthen the group as much as anything else. If you think about when I first arrived, we had maybe six or seven centre-backs at the club. So it’s not just numbers. It’s more about the ability of those players to play the football we want and to fit in to what we’re trying to build here.
“I think it is an area of the park we will look to strengthen, but I think we’ll look to strengthen all areas of the park come the end of the season. That is planning that’s already underway, and other people are in charge of it at the moment.”
Of the centre-backs linked, there are many, with Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly and Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo standing out as the potential bargain options on a free deal. Spurs won't wish to spend huge money on another central defender, considering they already have van de Ven, Romero and Dragusin at their disposal.
Tottenham considering Calafiori move after rave review from Paratici contacts
According to Football Insider and journalist Wayne Veysey, an astute option for Spurs could also be Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori.
The Italian, who's been called an "aerial monster" by football analyst Ben Mattinson, has been in fine form under Thiago Motta this season and reports suggest he could be available for around £21 million.
FI and Veysey claim Tottenham are considering a summer move for Calafiori, with Fabio Paratici's contacts in Italy left impressed by his excellent displays across this campaign.
Bologna 3-0 Salernitana
8.09
Empoli 1-0 Bologna
7.76
Bologna 1-0 Lazio
7.65
Roma 3-1 Bologna
7.55
Bologna 4-0 Lecce
7.49
The 21-year-old has made 27 Serie A appearances for Bologna over 23/24, registering four assists in that time, and another enticing draw for Postecoglou is that he's also capable of playing as a left-back – meaning he can fill in across multiple areas.
