As Tottenham Hotspur embark on a new future without Ange Postecoglou, Daniel Levy and the club will have to study new transfer targets to replace the players that will inevitably depart and to plug up the obvious holes in a squad that could only muster a 17th-placed finish in the Premier League despite conquering the Europa League.
Cristian Romero is one of the high-profile players who is increasingly likely to leave this summer after the decision to fire Postecoglou, and so Tottenham are going to need to look at all the best available center back options to replace a player who was named the best of the 2024/25 Europa League tournament.
It won't be easy to replace Romero, but Tottenham have been linked to a number of quality center back options like Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, Roma's Evan N'Dicka, and a host of other underrated options in Serie A like Bologna's Jhon Lucumi.
Another name that should be on Tottenham's list is Loic Bade. The French center back has been one of the most underrated players in European football over the last several years, but he's been pretty close to world-class as a beautiful covering defender for Sevilla, perhaps the one of the only things (along with winger Dodi Lukebakio) keeping the historic Spanish club from outright embarrassment and relegation.
Tottenham could replace one Europa League hero with another
Bade has proven himself on the big stage before, such as against Roma in the Europa League Final two years ago. But he did it again in the Nations League on Sunday, blanketing Germany in a third place game that always favored France.
The 25-year-old defender rose to the occasion with a majestic, commanding display at the heart of the French defense, and on a country with so many great defensive talents, Bade made it clear that he's just as good as any of them because of his ability to read the game and avoid mistakes.
Bade cleared five balls and put his body on the line with two blocked shots, making two tackles and completing about 94 percent of his passes in a nearly flawless defensive display against one of the best national teams in Europe.
Tottenham will need to sign the right profile to pair with Micky van de Ven if they have to replace Romero, and Bade could be a great fit for the uber-athletic Van de Ven with his more reserved and tactical approach to defending.
It's remarkable that Bade isn't a bigger name in European football, but the cat may leap out of the bag soon. Before then, Tottenham would be wise to recruit him and leap at the chance to replace a potentially LaLiga-bound Romero with Sevilla's Bade, who is one year younger and likely significantly cheaper.