Tottenham Hotspur have now asked for more information about Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, with the deals for Edmond Tapsoba and Micky van de Ven stalling, according to a recent report from CaughtOffside.
What’s the latest Tottenham transfer news?
It has now been reported that Ange Postecoglou is now set to focus all his efforts on signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, who has recently been stripped of the captaincy at Old Trafford, but the manager has other centre-back targets in mind.
Tottenham have been working on deals to sign Van de Ven and Tapsoba for quite some time now, with the Bundesliga duo previously emerging as the club’s leading targets, however they are only likely to sign one of the two.
According to a report from CaughtOffside, Spurs have reached a broad agreement with Van de Ven on personal terms, however there is still a “distance” on an agreement with Wolfsburg, as the German side’s asking price is deemed to be too high.
The deal for Tapsoba is stalling for similar reasons, meaning Tottenham may look at signing former loanee Clement Lenglet, while they are also exploring the possibility of signing either Marc Guehi or Joachim Andersen from Crystal Palace.
Sources have told CaughtOffside that the Lilywhites have now also asked for more information about Adarabioyo’s situation at Fulham, amid the defender’s uncertain future at Craven Cottage.
The 25-year-old’s £41k-per-week contract is currently set to expire in the summer of 2024, and talks over a new deal completely collapsed back in June, meaning this summer will be the Cottagers’ last chance to cash-in.
At the moment, Tottenham have made no formal proposal for the Englishman, but that could change if the deals for their top defensive targets continue to stall.
How good is Tosin Adarabioyo?
Lauded as “magnificent” by football writer John Cross, the 6 foot 5 colossus made 25 appearances for Fulham in the Premier League last season, establishing himself as one of the Cottagers’ key players as the season progressed.
The former Manchester City man averaged 5.5 clearances per game in the top flight, by far the most of any player in the squad, while an average of 1.2 tackles was the highest of any Fulham centre-back.
Previous reports have indicated Adarabioyo could be available for the cut-price fee of around £13m this summer, which would make him an affordable option for Tottenham, who are unwilling to match the high asking prices for Tapsoba and Van de Ven.
However, there is good reason why Tapsoba could command a higher transfer fee, as he has performed better than the Fulham ace on a number of key defensive metrics over the past year, averaging more tackles and blocks per 90.
Not only that, the Bayer Leverkusen star is much more assured in possession of the ball, attempting an average of 71.08 passes per 90, and he is fantastic at driving the ball forward, ranking in the 92nd percentile for progressive carries.
With Postecoglou keen to implement an aggressive and attacking style of play, Tapsoba could be the perfect signing for Tottenham, and they will be hoping Leverkusen are willing to lower their asking price in the coming weeks.
