Spurs in tug of war for talented Premier League defender
By Tom Vinall
According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur are set to battle it out with London and Premier League rivals Chelsea for the signature of AFC Bournemouth central defender Ilya Zabarnyi.
The defender has seriously impressed with his performances since joining the South Coast side from Dynamo Kyiv in January of 2023. Zabarnyi played 37/38 Premier League games for Andoni Iraola’s side last season, and has started all 11 of their league games so far this campaign, which include wins over Arsenal and Manchester City – with just one goal conceded across the two games.
Spurs set to battle it out for talented central defender
In terms of profile, Zabarnyi is seen as a top class box defender. As of December last season, he had the most interceptions (100) and shots blocked (18) in the entirety of Europe’s top five leagues. For someone of his age, the physical side of his game is very notable and impressive.
That does not mean he is someone who can only play in a low block, however. The Ukraine international’s 3.5 accurate long balls per game ranks him 10th in the entire Premier League. It is more than any other Spurs defender bar Pedro Porro, who also averages 3.5 per game. It is .3 a game more than Cristian Romero – who is renowned as a ball playing defender by many.
Despite being just 22 years of age, Zabaryni has already earned 44 caps with the Ukraine national team, and could make his 45th appearance against Albania on Tuesday evening. Sure. Ukraine are not a world class side, but to have played that many games at such a young age is a huge testament to his ability in any case.
As a result, whilst Zabarnyi is the profile Spurs like to recruit at the moment – young with plenty of room to grow and develop – the defender is still someone with plenty of experience at club and international level, and would be less likely to make mistakes from inexperience than a lot of players at his age.
One sticky point could be his contract at Bournemouth. Earlier this year, the 22-year old signed a contract extension which takes his existing deal until 2029. The above report suggests that the Cherries are looking for £50 million pounds. Nothing unreasonable, for sure, but we all know how Spurs and Daniel Levy like to operate.
The last signing from Bournemouth has been pretty good, right?
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