Spurs now want summer move for cool defender who is nearly as fast as van de Ven
Ange Postecoglou has worked hard to restructure Tottenham Hotspur’s defence since joining the team in the summer. He spent up to £43 million in his first transfer window on Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven, then in the winter, he approved a further £27 million deal for Radu Dragusin of Genoa.
In the centre of the back four, the duo now has choices alongside Ben Davies and Cristian Romero. Although that should be sufficient until the end of the season, Davies’ uncertain future may prompt Spurs to enter the market again soon.
Leeds, a team vying for promotion from the Premier League, expressed interest in signing the Welshman last month. The player is rapidly reaching the end of his contract in North London. Although that didn’t work out, writer Paul Brown said that it wouldn’t be “surprise” if Davies was “granted a move away in the summer” as he prepares for the possibility of playing little time under Postecoglou.
Spurs are vying for the Tapsoba deal
In light of this, it is believed that the Spurs are investigating a trade with Bayer Leverkusen for Edmond Tapsoba. Along with a number of other local and foreign opponents, Christian Falk, a writer for Caught Offside, writes that they are expressing a strong interest in the defender.
Tapsoba is being pursued by Manchester United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, PSG, and Atletico Madrid; Leverkusen is reportedly willing to let him go for about £34 million.
Spurs may have “cool” Tapsoba and world-class depth
Tapsoba, who paid about £17 million to join Die Werkself from Vitoria Guimaraes in 2020, has made 164 appearances for the team. Of them, 27 have come this season. The 25-year-old Burkinabe is back in the fold after missing three games because of the Africa Cup of Nations. He has a tendency to play when he is available, making 15 of 19 league starts for Leverkusen, a team that seems poised to challenge Bayern Munich’s stranglehold.
| Bundesliga defenders with most passes into the final third – 2023/24 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Club | P 1/3 |
| 1 | Nico Schlotterbeck | Borussia Dortmund | 119 |
| 2 | Dayot Upamecano | Bayern Munich | 117 |
| 3 | Waldemar Anton | Stuttgart | 111 |
| 4 | Kim Min-jae | Bayern Munich | 105 |
| 5 | Edmond Tapsoba | Bayer Leverkusen | 101 |
Talent scout Jacek Kulig called Tapsoba “cool” since he excels in several of the areas that are crucial for a contemporary defender. He’s one of the finest progressive passers in his position, as the above data shows, and he’s managed to retain an extremely amazing 91.6% passing accuracy so far, even with his aggressive style of play.
Most importantly, he possesses the speed required to function in Postecoglou’s system; his speed difference with former Bundesliga rival Micky van de Ven is barely 2 km/h. Spurs may have one of the best sets of centre halves in European football if they can complete this transaction before the competition.
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