Tottenham Hotspur are looking to improve their defensive options before the summer transfer window closes.
According to Fabrizio Romano, they have identified Edmond Tapsoba and Micky van de Ven as potential targets.
Romano has revealed in his Substack column with CaughtOffside that Tottenham have ‘talks planned’ with Bayer Leverkusen for the defender ‘next week’, and it remains to be seen whether the two clubs can come to an agreement.
“Another deal Tottenham will work on is Edmond Tapsoba, with talks planned with Bayer Leverkusen next week, while Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven is another option. The asking price is the key point of these two negotiations – Spurs are speaking to both Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg because they hope for some creative formula, trying to include players into deals for example. Tapsoba is more expensive than Van de Ven, for sure.”
Meanwhile, Van de Ven is also on their radar and both transfers will depend on the asking price. Tottenham will be hoping to sign them for a reasonable price and it will be interesting to see how the situation develops.
Tapsoba has established himself as a reliable Bundesliga defender and the 24-year-old has the quality to succeed in the Premier League as well. Similarly, Van de Ven had an impressive campaign with Wolfsburg and a move to the Premier League would be the ideal next step in his career.
Both players would improve Tottenham defensively and they will add some much-needed pace to their backline.
Tottenham will have to find a quality partner for Cristian Romero and signing a top-class central defender should be their priority this summer.
They have already improved their squad with the signings of Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison. They will need to plug the gaps in the defensive unit before the window closes now.
Tottenham conceded 63 goals in the Premier League last season and they cannot afford to be vulnerable defensively if they want to compete with the top clubs and return to the Champions League.