Tottenham are set to hold talks with Bayer Leverkusen early next week for the potential transfer of Edmond Tapsoba, according to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on the Debrief Podcast with CaughtOffside.
Tapsoba has impressed in the Bundesliga and seems to be emerging as Spurs’ priority in defence this summer, though there also remains the possibility that Leverkusen’s asking price will be too high for them.
Romano explained that Tottenham’s strategy tends to be to negotiate with two or more targets at once before settling on their priority, and so Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven also remains an option for them.
Romano believes that Tapsoba is Spurs’ preferred option at the moment, but he could also be more expensive, which would then lead them to go for Van de Ven instead, depending on the outcome of talks with Leverkusen next week.
“Tottenham’s strategy is to negotiate with different players for the same position and then attack the player they really want,” Romano explained.
“This is the Tottenham idea and this is why they are speaking to Wolfsburg over Micky van de Ven and they will have new conversations with Bayer Leverkusen for Edmond Tapsoba next week. They have a new round of talks with Leverkusen early next week, and my information is that Tapsoba is their number one option, but h’s also more expensive, so it’s important for Tottenham to understand if they can find a compromise on the asking price for Tapsoba.
“Van de Ven – there is still no agreement, but next week will be important to understand if Tottenham can advance on the Tapsoba deal, otherwise they will go for Van de Ven.”
THFC surely need to strengthen defensively this summer after dropping out of the top four last season, and one imagines fans would be happy with either one of these players coming in.