Tottenham centre-back transfer update: Comparing targets

Edmond Tapsoba

Tapsoba has the best stats of all three and is Tottenham’s undisputed top target. The question is whether Tottenham will dish out the £40 to £50 million fee to convince Bayer Leverkusen to sell.

It’s improbable Tottenham will negotiate a slashed rate like they did for Maddison, but you never know. I didn’t think the Foxes would sell Maddison for less than £50 million and look how that turned out.

Transfermarkt could use some help, too, as they almost always undervalue individuals’ actual market values.

Anyway, Tapsoba is Tottenham’s number one desired central defensive candidate for various reasons.

He is still only 24 years old and is already Premier League-ready. He would slide directly into the first team, which is what Spurs are looking for.

He’s left-footed but can play on either side of central defence. Tapsoba rarely concedes possession, but even more importantly, he has the confidence and composure to play precise forward passes, constantly advancing the ball. That’s music to Ange’s ears, who despises backward passes as much as he does the taste of Fosters.

Sorry, Fosters, but nobody in Australia drinks your lacklustre beer.

While Tapsoba is Premier League-ready, he’s not yet the finished article and has lots of growth potential, particularly aerially. Tapsoba will want to improve his 48.1 percent aerial duels won markedly, glaringly his worst stat from the previous campaign.

Tapsoba is under contract until June 2026 and currently earns about £37,000 weekly.

He made 33 Bundesliga appearances during the 2022-23 campaign and also appeared 13 times in European competition, five in the Champions League and eight in the Europa League.

According to the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel, Tottenham likes what they see in van de Ven but are pushing hard to land Tapsoba.

While the Daily Mail has a propensity to speculate, other reputable mainstream publications have backed Mokbel’s stance.

If the rest early stages of the transfer period are anything to go by, Tottenham might remain tight-lipped about the deal until it’s on the verge of being finalized.