Tottenham Hotspur are known to be on the lookout for a new centre-back next summer, but reports indicate that London rivals Chelsea could make a move for a top target Josko Gvardiol in January.
With Antonio Conte employing a back three, central defensive depth is more important than ever for the Spurs squad.
Despite signing Clement Lenglet this summer, the fact his loan deal doesn’t include a purchase option (TottenhamHotspur.com) suggests he is not guaranteed to be at Spurs next season.
One player Spurs were linked heavily with this summer is Josko Gvardiol (Football.London), but the RB Leipzig star has also caught the eye of Chelsea. So much so, that the West London side tried to sign Gvardiol before the transfer window closed (Fabrizio Romano).
Peter O’Rourke even claimed that Gvardiol was one of Tottenham’s ‘top targets’ in the summer (GiveMeSport) and Alasdair Gold added that he featured above Alessandro Bastoni at the top of the list.
The young Croatian won’t come cheap though, with Leipzig reluctant to let him go. Chelsea reportedly had a £77.3 million offer rejected last month (Fabrizio Romano).
Now, Fabrizio Romano suggests the Blues may come knocking for Gvardiol again in January, and it appears the player himself is keen on the move.
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He said: “At one point, Chelsea and Leipzig were really close to an agreement for Josko Gavrdiol. Then at the end, it was turned down by Leipzig. The player was tempted but Leipzig decided to wait, maybe for January.
“So Cheslea could be back in January for Gvardiol but this now has to be decided together with [Graham] Potter because [Thomas] Tuchel was a superfan of Gvardiol.
“But now it’s up to [Todd] Boehly, the new director of football who is coming and Graham Potter but it’s important to say on Chelsea that Gvardiol was really close and at the end the agreement collapsed.
“Of course, the deal was for next summer in 2023 so Gvardiol was a target for the next season to be completed now but for next season. No agreement with Leipzig, they extended his contract but Chelsea will also be there in the future.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It would be a real kick in the teeth to not only miss out on one of our top targets, but to miss out because Chelsea acted more swiftly. Spurs are renowned for being frugal with their finances in recent years, but to compete at the top, you sometimes have to pay the big fees. In my opinion, Gvardiol is worth the money.
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