Tottenham Target Witsel Eyeing Serie A, Premier League

One of Tottenham Hotspur’s many targets, Axel Witsel, has made the first move in potentially being signed by Spurs. As he has stated he will move to Serie A or the Premier League.

A couple of days ago, ESPN FC reported that Axel Witsel, a target of numerous clubs including Tottenham, is currently eyeing a move for either Serie A or the Premier League. Witsel has no preference on which league to join but knows that he will leave Zenit Saint Petersburg before the start of the new season.

Speaking to La Gazetta dello Sport, Axel Witsel, said that it was time to move on and experience something new after spending the past four seasons in Russia after transferring from Benfica in 2012.

“I want a new experience and I don’t know if it will be in the Premier League or in Serie A,” Witsel said. “I’m fascinated by Italian football and at the age of 27, it would be the right move for me to make.”

AC Milan was interested back then, but because that was a long time ago, according to the Belgian midfielder, he has shifted his focus to the Euros.

“[AC] Milan did try to sign me before, it’s true, but it was a long time ago now. Now I’ve only got the European Championship on my mind, though,” Witsel continued.

When further pressed on why he has decided to move to a different league now, Witsel said it’s about playing in a more competitive league in a roundabout way and being a part of some big European clubs.

“All that matters is that it’s a big club. I want to move up a level and play in a big European club.” Axel Witsel added.

The highlight video above is from the 2014-15 season, but even then it still shows what Axel Witsel can do: breaking plays up as a holding mid and winning aerial duels. When it comes to maintaining possession and passing the ball off, he is very adapt at doing that too.

More or less, while the Belgian international’s natural position is that of a central midfielder, he can play any of the five midfield positions in Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation. This makes him an ideal candidate to join Spurs (and any other club) as they could use someone who is flexible to rotate to different roles when needed.

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Being able to potentially sign Witsel, to go along with Victor Wanyama’s imminent arrival after he passed his medical, plus having Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé already on the squad. This would give Tottenham four central midfield players and possibly the best quartet assembled in the Premier League on paper.

The only stumbling block in trying to sign Axel Witsel is his price and how much Zenit St. Petersburg wants in return.

Based on his Transfermarkt page, they value him at €23 million (£17.6 million) which seems appropriate, but if he were to leave and Zenit is going to lose a valuable player, it’s to be expected that the Russian club will ask for more money.

Last August Tottenham had shown interest in the Belgian international but Zenit demanded Spurs to pay €100 million (£72.8 million).

Not much has happened since then, but with Chelsea, Milan and Roma looking to sign the versatile midfielder per the ESPN article up top, Tottenham could be facing a bidding war for Witsel’s services.

Next: Why Napoli Might Want Tottenham's Alex Pritchard

Again, Tottenham are still linked with Axel Witsel but currently it seems that they have stopped their pursuit for the 27-year-old. It’s not known if Mauricio Pochettino has lost interest because of Zenit’s €100 million price tag, but Pochettino has targeted central/defensive midfielders this summer.

So there’s hope, that once Wanyama is officially signed and Tottenham signs a couple of more players at different areas, maybe the Argentine manager will entertain an offer for Witsel once again.