N'Koulou wants £3.16m signing-on fee

TRANSFER TALK

Reports suggest Spurs are interested in free transfer centre-back Nicolas N'Koulou whose contract at Marseille expires at the end of the month. Bundesliga side Schalke, Spanish side Sevilla, Italians Juventus, Premier League rivals Liverpool and Arsenal are all also reported to be interested.

The 26-year-old (27 next March) has been the subject of a bid from  Turkish side Besiktas and UEFA Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid have made enquiries.

N'Koulou wants a signing-on fee of £3.16 million (€4m - US$4.55m - AUS$6.17m) a four-year contract and an annual salary of £1.97 million (€2.5m - US$2.84m - AUS$3.86m) which is £37,885-a-week (€48,168 - US$54,775 - AUS$74,295). The Besiktas hierarchy are travelling to France to talk terms but they want him to lower his signing-on fee demands.

You would expect the Cameroonian international is right-footed and would surely want almost guaranteed first-team football at his age. That makes him signing for Spurs unlikely with Toby Alderweireld firmly established.