Tottenham Hotspur are set to make a long-term contract offer to Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba after sealing a deal for Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven.
Who will Spurs sign?
Ange Postecoglou, as reported by reliable media sources like Fabrizio Romano, are closing in on the signings of both van de Ven and Rosario Central striker Alejo Veliz.
The former, who will sign from Wolfsburg for around €50 million (£43m) including add-ons, is travelling to London on Saturday ahead of a medical with Spurs as chairman Daniel Levy finally captures a centre-back.
Meanwhile, Romano has also given his famous “here we go” to a Tottenham deal for Veliz, with the highly-rated South American striker coming in as a potential star for the future.
There are suggestions that this could well be a busy final month of the window for Spurs with some reports even claiming they could sign two senior centre-backs before September 1 – not including Blackburn starlet Ashley Phillips – whose arrival has just been announced by Tottenham.
Postecoglou, after his new side conceded 63 league goals last season, has admitted to the media that signing a new defender or two is one of their summer agendas.
“That’s definitely our intention, absolutely,” said the Spurs head coach when asked about centre-backs.
“We’ve been working on it for a while and we’ll definitely try to get it done as quickly as possible.
“I don’t think it’s any secret about some of the areas we needed to strengthen. Some of it I identified early on. The goalkeeper was one and central defence is another.
“In terms of the other boys, we’ve got a big squad but my view is I wanted to bring them along and just work with them, get some clarity in my head and give clarity to them.”
After van de Ven, it appears Spurs are indeed aiming for at least one more option in that area. Indeed, Football Insider saying they’re still in the hunt for Tapsoba, with a “long-term contract” currently in the offing. The Burkina Faso international, who played more Bundesliga minutes than any other Leverkusen outfielder last season, is at the centre of interest from Spurs.
They will apparently turn attention to prising him away from Germany following van de Ven and are set to offer him a long-term contract in a bid to tempt him towards Tottenham.
This comes as Postecoglou aims to sign two centre-backs before deadline day, with Spurs pushing to complete a number of deals, according to the outlet.
How good is Edmond Tapsoba?
An untouchable member of Xabi Alonso’s starting eleven last campaign, Tapsoba has been praised for his composure on the ball and even likened to former Bayern Munich star defender Jerome Boateng.
The Bundesliga website wrote:
“The legendary Bayern Munich defender, who made 364 appearances across 11 seasons for the Bavarian giants, was as cool and calm as it gets both on the ball and in the tackle while he was also famed for his pinpoint long passing that set up many an attack for the record champions.
“Tapsoba has similar traits and such is his eagerness to start forward thrusts, he has often been referred to as a defensive playmaker.”
