Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s search for a new central defender this summer.
The north Londoners were said to have had Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni high up on their list of targets to bolster their backline (Football.London).
However, a deal for the Italian international appears to be difficult as agent Tullio Tinti has reiterated that the 23-year-old will be remaining at the San Siro (Evening Standard).
Romano has claimed that Tottenham are keen admirers of Red Bull Leipzig pair Josko Gvardiol and Mohamed Simakan.
Simakan, 22, only joined the Bundesliga outfit from Strasbourg last summer and has impressed during his first campaign in Germany.
Football.London‘s Alasdair Gold has previously claimed that a move for Gvardiol is likely to be difficult considering the Croatian international is under contract until 2026 and is said to be happy in Germany.
When asked what other defenders Spurs will have in mind if Bastoni stays at Inter Milan, Romano told German news outlet Wettfreunde’s YouTube channel: “It will depend on the price.
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“I can tell you that one of the players they have been monitoring for a long time is Mohamed Simakan from Red Bull Leipzig.
“Another player they appreciate it Gvardiol, so they are two players they really like but it depends on the price because we know tough it is to negotiate with Leipzig.
“Discussing about top targets, Pau Torres was really close to joining Tottenham one year ago, this summer it could depend on negotiations with Lo Celso, but it is not something close.
“We have heard some rumours about a deal being close for Pau Torres a few days ago, a few weeks ago, but at the moment, it’s not something close.
“Bastoni was a top target but he is staying at Inter, definitely. I think Skriniar has chances to leave to join Paris Saint-Germain who are leading the race, but for Bastoni it is a really complicated one.
“I’m sure that Tottenham will go for a centre-back because Antonio Conte wants a centre-back but at the moment, keep an eye on players at Leipzig but not an easy negotiation and I won’t be surprised if Fabio Paratici will jump on something surprising, because this is how he works since a long time.”
SpursWeb Opinion
A left-sided central defender is reported to have been high up on Spurs’ shopping list however it appears they are encountering issues in landing a suitable player to fill the position.
Bastoni looks to definitely be staying at Inter, while Sven Botman, is closing in on a move to their cross-city rivals AC Milan. Spurs really do need to move fast if they want to get more of their new recruits through the door in time to board the plane to South Korea next month.
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