Tottenham Hotspur maintain an interest in signing Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake as a replacement for Jan Vertonghen, according to Football Insider.
Vertonghen is out of contract at the end of the season and, at 33 years old may struggle to convince chairman Daniel Levy he is worthy of a new deal.
The Belgian missed Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge through injury as compatriot Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez started at centre-half.
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Alderweireld is also free to leave Spurs in the summer but may have a long-term future under Mourinho who is understood to have wanted to sign the 30-year-old when he was at Manchester United, reports The Telegraph.
Ake would be an ideal replacement for Vertonghen, a left-sided defender who can cover at full-back, and would also fit the bill as a home-grown player which is something that we need to be considering in the market.
After joining Chelsea as a teenager, the Dutchman worked with Mourinho at Stamford Bridge but only made five senior appearances under the Portuguese’s tenure as he failed to establish himself in the first team.
However, the 24-year-old has been a big hit at Bournemouth, starting 53 consecutive Premier League games, and Football Insider reports that Spurs will scout him to determine if he is ready to test himself at a big club again.
There are elements to Ake’s game which make me believe he could have a Virgil van Dijk-esque rise, albeit probably not on quite the same scale. Strong, quick, good in the air and on the ball; Ake will do for me.
Let’s hope those bridges aren’t burned with Mourinho.