Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a number of defenders in recent weeks.
Summer signing Micky van de Ven is sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring injury and the North London outfit will have to sign a quality defender in January. The likes of Eric Dier have been linked with an exit midway through the season as well.
Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly have been linked with a move to Tottenham in recent weeks and Tom Barclay believes that the North London outfit are more likely to sign Kelly instead of the former Chelsea defender.
Guehi is likely to be an expensive acquisition and the Bournemouth defender is a more realistic target.
‘My understanding is that at the moment if there’s a player to come in it’s likely to be a centre-back, there have been suggestions about Marc Guehi recently. He ticks a lot of boxes but would be an expensive option. I see Romero and Van de Ven being the long-term pairing for the Ange Postecoglou era, so I can’t see that one personally,” Barclay said on The Tottenham Way Podcast.
“I’d be surprised on that one personally, but someone like Lloyd Kelly at Bournemouth who can also play at left-back makes a bit more sense.”
The 23-year-old Crystal Palace star has proven himself to be a reliable Premier League defender and he will want to join a big club soon. Regular football at the highest level will help him cement his place in the England starting lineup as well. The opportunity to join Tottenham will be an attractive proposition for him, but he is unlikely to be a cheap acquisition.
It will be interesting to see if Tottenham are prepared to break the bank for him.
They will need to strengthen the other areas of their squad as well and Kelly will be a more reasonable acquisition for them. The versatile Bournemouth defender could be available for a fee of around £25-30 million. He has proven himself in the Premier League with the Cherries and he would certainly improve Tottenham defensively.
