Tottenham Hotspur continue their pursuit of another defender, even after securing the signing of Radu Dragusin earlier this month.
According to a report from Capital’s news outlet Il Resto del Carlino (via Sport Witness), Spurs have made enquiries for Bologna’s 21-year-old defender, Riccardo Calafiori.
Calafiori is presently under contract with the Italian club until June 2027, having joined Bologna from Swiss side Basel last summer in a €4m transfer deal.
A consistent performer for Bologna this season, Calafiori has featured in the starting eleven for 15 out of the available 18 games.
The versatile defender can also play as a fullback and has already played 5 games as left-back across all competitions this season.
Additional confirmation comes from another Italian source, Quotidiano Sportivo, which backs the reports of Tottenham’s interest in the player and further claims that Spurs representatives have initiated contact for the Italy U21 international.
While Spurs are actively pursuing Calafiori, they face stiff competition, with Inter Milan, Juventus, Milan, and Napoli who are also reportedly expressing interest in securing his services.
The centre-back position has presented challenges for Ange Postecoglou this season. The primary defenders, including Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Ben Davies, have faced injury setbacks at various points in the season. Due to these absences, the Australian manager even found himself compelled to deploy full-back Emerson Royal in the centre-half position out of necessity.
With Davies out injured and Eric Dier off to Bayern, Postecoglou is keen on securing another reliable defender like Riccardo Calafiori, capable of playing different roles across the backline to further bolster the defence.