Tottenham Hotspur have rejected an offer from Sunderland for a centre-back who made his first appearance of the season on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.
Spurs have made huge changes to their squad this summer, with eight new players arriving through the door for a combined £372m, while 10 players have been sold.
The defence has seen significant changes, with Cristian Romero and Djed Spence departing the club, while Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson have arrived through the door.
It remains to be seen if there are any more late exits from the club, and it appears that one Premier League club have tested the waters to see if the Lilywhites will allow one senior defender to leave.
Tottenham reject Sunderland’s loan offer for Kevin Danso
BBC Sport have revealed that Sunderland made a season-long loan offer for Kevin Danso, which was turned down by the North London club.
The 27-year-old, who arrived from Lens during January of last year, is seemingly behind Ven Hecke, Senesi and Micky van de Ven in the pecking order.
That is perhaps why the Black Cats tested the water to see if they could snag Danso in a late deal, but Tottenham did not entertain the bid.
The report adds that it is unclear if Regis Le Bris’ men remain interested in the Austria international as we approach the final few days of the transfer window.
Spurs cannot afford to let Danso go without a replacement
While Spurs have five reliable centre-back options (including Ben Davies), De Zerbi will likely not want to lose any of them without signing a replacement.
Given the injury issues Tottenham have had at the back for the last two seasons, they will not want to risk leaving themselves short in the heart of their defence.
Danso has been extremely reliable whenever called upon since arriving at the club, and he is the player who will cover for Van Hecke in the right centre-back role, with Senesi and Van de Ven unlikely to play together.