EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham are on the verge of signing left-sided centre-back Edmond Tapsoba from Bayer Leverkusen with it hoped their transfer activity will convince Harry Kane to stay long-term.
Tottenham are poised to make their second signing of the summer – with the capture of Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba.
A source close to the North Londoners has confirmed that a deal ‘is very close’ to completion with a £25million bid on the table.
The arrival of Burkina Faso international Tapsoba, 24, who operates on the left side of central defence, will conclude the club’s long-running search to strengthen that position.
The imminent swoop follows the permanent £26.5m signing of Swedish playmaker Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus after his 18-month loan spell.
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And with a £15.6m move for Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicaro verbally agreed last week, Spurs’ spending spree under new boss Ange Postecoglou will soon hit £68m.
That rapid outlay – in just a fortnight – underlines chairman Daniel Levy’s determination to back the Aussie coach, who quit Scottish Treble-winners Celtic for the N17 hot-seat this month, in the transfer market.
The investment is unlikely to stop there as Tottenham also chase Leicester playmaker James Maddison and Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho.
And there is a posse of Celtic stars on Postecoglou’s radar, including Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi and one-time Spurs Academy defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Levy is also hoping the significant early transfer activity will help convince England skipper Harry Kane – a £100m target for Manchester United – to stay put and commit his future to the club.
One such move which could do just that is signing out of favour Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire, who was linked with Spurs earlier this month.
The pair are good pals having bonded on England duty, with Kane said to have recommended Maguire to higher-ups on a number of occasions.
I hope we don’t sign Maguire, we already have one fridge we don’t need another one.