Roberto De Zerbi is looking to bring three of his former Brighton players to Tottenham Hotspur ahead of his first full season in charge of the North London club.
As the delight and relief from Tottenham’s Premier League survival wears off, the club will be left with the realisation that they have a huge amount of work to do to get back to where they belong.
Two back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League have exposed the shortcomings of this squad.
In fact, in his post-match press conference on Sunday, De Zerbi made it clear that major work is needed this summer to ensure Spurs never suffer again like they did this season.
Roberto De Zerbi wants to bring Brighton trio to Tottenham
The Independent have now claimed that among the things on Spurs’ agenda this summer is a new goalkeeper, a midfielder and a centre-back.
It is revealed that De Zerbi wants to raid his former club to strengthen all three positions, Carlos Baleba, Jan Paul van Hecke and Bart Verbruggen at the top of the Italian’s wishlist ahead of his first transfer window at N17.
It is said that there is a ‘natural acceptance’ at Spurs that they would not be able to get all three deals over the line this summer, but with plenty of other names also on the Lilywhites’ list.
Spurs may have to break their transfer record to land Carlos Baleba
The Independent suggests that out of the three players, the pursuit of Baleba is expected to prove the trickiest for Tottenham.
This is because the Seagulls want over £100m for the Cameroon international, while Manchester United are also on the 22-year-old trail ahead of the summer window.
The outlet explains that despite Antonin Kinsky’s impressive form, De Zerbi wants to add one more keeper to his squad, and Bart Verbruggen is an attractive choice as the Dutchman knows how the Italian wants to play.
Jan Paul van Hecke, on the other hand, could replace a departing Cristian Romero.