Tottenham Transfer Talk - Centre-Backs
Tottenham Transfer Talk - Centre-Backs
Tottenham Transfer Talk today from THBN concerns the centre-back position where we will lose Jan Vertonghen and possibly the error-prone Juan Foyth.
Now seems a good time to mention Foyth would not be making all the mistakes he has if we were employing a sports psychologist to work with him on a weekly basis.
As you know, football is played in the brain so if you don't work on the brain you are not working on its major component, which seems rather ludicrous in this day and age, pre-historic almost.
The after-effects of the Coronavirus pandemic are going to affect the transfer market and it is going to affect what Spurs can afford to spend.
Once again we find ourselves having to spend money to solve problems that could easily be solved by the previously mentioned method. When will we learn?
Anyone expecting things to just go back to how they were pre-pandemic hasn't grasped there will be a worldwide recession. Our players are now worth less than they were a few months ago, opposition players are worth less than they were and wage demands will have to drop.
Fortunately, we pay a lower basic with plenty of performance bonuses.
Anyway, Spurs will be looking at cheap deals, at swap deals, at players at the end of their contracts, at free transfers and at raising money from player sales. There will be funds but don't expect a similar amount spent as last summer. That has now gone out of the window.
You will not be seeing £100m transfers, people in the game accept that. At the moment agents are trying to come to some sort of consensus with clubs where to pitch transfer fees and wage demands.
We at Sours are reportedly looking at 20-year-old (21 next February) Albanian international (1 cap) Marash Kumbulla to replace Jan Vertonghen, who I revealed last summer would be departing this summer to probably end his career at Ajax.
Jan is asking for far too much money to secure a move to Italy, but he has value as a backup player for someone or a starter in the short term.
Chelsea have been watching Kumbulla this season. Inter Milan, of course, PSG, Napoli, Manchester United, Manchester City, Lazio, Fiorentino, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Everton, and Arsenal have all linked with him too.
He is attracting interest because he is a ball-playing centre-back who reads the game very well and therefore is a good positional player. The right-footer is strong in one-on-one battles, he won 71.36% of them playing centrally in a three-man defence.
Before this season he had played only one senior game but coach Ivan Juric clearly felt he was suited to Verona's man-marking defensive intensity.
Kumbulla possesses a strong physique and he was tasked with seeking out one-on-one battles and those figures show why. That resulted in him having nearly double the one-on-one duels than his defensive teammates.
In his own third, he has lost the ball just 1.92% of the time, an impressive figure that drops to 0.64% for losses in dangerous areas.
His range of passing needs improvement, he keeps things simple at the moment, understandable as he is finding his way in the game and he isn't the quickest of defenders, thus might struggle in a high line defence.
His contract runs until 2022.
Hellas Verona sports director Tony D'amico has suggested his Italian club would want in excess of £22.37m (€25m -AUS$41.69 - US$27.24m) for the defender with potential.
Once again we find ourselves having to spend money to solve problems that could easily be solved by the previously mentioned method. When will we learn?
Anyone expecting things to just go back to how they were pre-pandemic hasn't grasped there will be a worldwide recession. Our players are now worth less than they were a few months ago, opposition players are worth less than they were and wage demands will have to drop.
Fortunately, we pay a lower basic with plenty of performance bonuses.
Anyway, Spurs will be looking at cheap deals, at swap deals, at players at the end of their contracts, at free transfers and at raising money from player sales. There will be funds but don't expect a similar amount spent as last summer. That has now gone out of the window.
You will not be seeing £100m transfers, people in the game accept that. At the moment agents are trying to come to some sort of consensus with clubs where to pitch transfer fees and wage demands.
We at Sours are reportedly looking at 20-year-old (21 next February) Albanian international (1 cap) Marash Kumbulla to replace Jan Vertonghen, who I revealed last summer would be departing this summer to probably end his career at Ajax.
Jan is asking for far too much money to secure a move to Italy, but he has value as a backup player for someone or a starter in the short term.
Chelsea have been watching Kumbulla this season. Inter Milan, of course, PSG, Napoli, Manchester United, Manchester City, Lazio, Fiorentino, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Everton, and Arsenal have all linked with him too.
He is attracting interest because he is a ball-playing centre-back who reads the game very well and therefore is a good positional player. The right-footer is strong in one-on-one battles, he won 71.36% of them playing centrally in a three-man defence.
Before this season he had played only one senior game but coach Ivan Juric clearly felt he was suited to Verona's man-marking defensive intensity.
Kumbulla possesses a strong physique and he was tasked with seeking out one-on-one battles and those figures show why. That resulted in him having nearly double the one-on-one duels than his defensive teammates.
In his own third, he has lost the ball just 1.92% of the time, an impressive figure that drops to 0.64% for losses in dangerous areas.
His range of passing needs improvement, he keeps things simple at the moment, understandable as he is finding his way in the game and he isn't the quickest of defenders, thus might struggle in a high line defence.
His contract runs until 2022.
Hellas Verona sports director Tony D'amico has suggested his Italian club would want in excess of £22.37m (€25m -AUS$41.69 - US$27.24m) for the defender with potential.
Reports in Italy from Radiosei suggest that Lazio hope the opportunity to work with compatriots in Igli Tare (Sporting Director) and Thomas Strakosha (Goalkeeper) would push Kumbulla towards Rome and that the players' desire would enable them to then negotiate a lower fee.
He is their top centre-back target but they can't afford him unless they sell first. Lazio have made contact with his representatives to sound the player out and received a positive response. M has indicated publicly he would be happy to join Lazio.
Inter Milan are pushing very hard for him and in regular contact but of course, Chelsea website want to suggest they are leading the race for his signature, which they are not. They are certainly interested.
Which other centre-backs are on our radar?
- Robin Koch is a 23-year-old (24 in July) German international with 2 caps who plays for SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga. His contract runs out in 2021 and he is right-footed.
- Guillermo Maripan is a 26-year-old (27 next May) Chilean international with 24 caps who plays in France for Monaco in Ligue 1. His contract runs out in 2024 and he is right-footed.
- Kalidou Koulibaly is a 28-year-old (29 in June) Senegal international with 33 caps who plays for Serie A club Napoli and is the vice-captain. His contract runs out in 2023 and he is right-footed.
- Diego Godín is a 34-year-old (35 next February) Uruguayan international with 135 caps who plays for Italian club Inter Milan having moved from Atletico Madrid last summer. His contract runs out in 2022 and he is right-footed.
- Milan Škriniar is a 25-year-old (26 in February) Slovakian international with 31 caps who plays for Italian club Inter Milan. The right-footed defender was named Slovakia's best U21 player for 2016, receiving the Peter Dubovský Award. His contract runs out in 2023.
Well, there are 6 players we are looking at abroad with differing ages and differing values. Some short-term, some longer-term, but not the entire list by any means.
A couple of recent THBN articles for you below, the latest covering the legalities of restarting the season and the legal action that has begun in some leagues abroad who have ended the season early.
A couple of recent THBN articles for you below, the latest covering the legalities of restarting the season and the legal action that has begun in some leagues abroad who have ended the season early.
COYS
Recent THBN Articles
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