Tottenham Hotspur have frequently sent scouts to keep an eye on Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, who could be available for as little as £45m according to Fabrizio Romano.
Are Tottenham signing Tapsoba?
Now in charge of a defence that was in disarray last season, Ange Postecoglou has no time to waste in strengthening his backline this summer.
Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier have been tipped to leave Tottenham this window, while loanee Clement Lenglet has returned to Barcelona, meaning that Postecoglou is likely to need new faces to make up the numbers in defence.
One of those that has been readily linked with a move to north London is Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen. The Burkina Faso international has blossomed into one of the Bundesliga's best central defenders and it seems inevitable that he will move onto bigger and better things this summer.
Speaking on his Here We Go podcast, Romano insisted that Spurs are one of the leading candidates for his signature, having claimed that Tottenham's scouts have frequently gone to watch the 24-year-old.
"I keep saying that Tapsoba is a priority target because they [Spurs] love Tapsoba. Tottenham scouts have been there many times this year to follow Tapsoba. So, he is a player they really love and they feel is perfect for Premier League football."
"He is a leader. So, there are many factors in a deal and Tottenham think he is a fantastic option".
When quizzed about how much he thought Tapsoba would fetch in the current market, Romano suggested approximately £45-50m, potentially with some add-ons. The top end of that valuation, excluding add-ons, would make him Spurs' second most expensive player of all-time, as per Tranfsermarkt.
Tapsoba, who has been hailed as "frightening", is not the only defensive name on Spurs' shortlist, however, with Marc Guehi, Tosin Adarabioyo and Micky van de Ven all having been linked.
Would Tapsoba make Spurs better?
Having featured 33 times in the Bundesliga last season and five times in the Champions League, Tapsoba was given plenty of opportunities to progress, and he took those opportunities.
Tapsoba is a modern centre-back and is comfortable stepping out of defence and moving the ball directly up the pitch. Compared to other centre-backs in the Bundesliga last season, he ranked in the top 13% for progressive carries per 90 (1.25) and the top 10% for progressive passes (5.30).
He is good under pressure, rarely gifting possession to the opposition, and generally employs a good range of accurate passing. However, his major strength is one-v-one defending, with the 24-year-old coming out on top on 71.4% of occasions he is dribbled at.
Spurs' defensive shoddiness last season must be improved upon if they have any hope of returning to the Champions League places, with Taposba potentially being a solid foundation on which Postecoglou can build.
