As Tottenham Hotspur gets ready to live without Micky van de Ven for some weeks, they have reportedly identified four possible center back additions.
In the first few weeks of the season, Dutchman Van de Ven and Cristian Romero had a great relationship that helped Ange Postecoglou record 26 points from his first 10 Premier League games.
Unsurprisingly, the two joined arms for Monday’s London derby against Chelsea. However, near the conclusion of the first half, Van van Ven pulled up in pain and collapsed to the ground, holding the back of his thigh.
Postecoglou acknowledged right away that Van de Ven seemed to have a major problem, and it is now official that the former Wolfsburg player will not be seen again for the rest of the year.
Romero was sent off for a careless challenge on Enzo Fernandez prior to Van de Ven’s retirement, and the Argentina international completed the first of a three-game suspension during Saturday’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
With Romero and Van de Ven out, Postecoglou’s lone senior center-back was Eric Dier, who is likely to leave the team when his contract expires in 2024. Ben Davies joined Dier for the midday kickoff at Molineux.
After Brennan Johnson gave Spurs an early lead, the second-string combination initially thwarted several Wolves raids, but goals from Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina in the closing minutes sealed a stunning comeback for Gary O’Neil’s team.
While 18-year-old Ashley Phillips is another option available to Postecoglou, the former Blackburn Rovers player is not yet being considered for Premier League starts, thus defensive reinforcements will probably be Johan Lange’s primary priority in January.
The Mirror claims that Tottenham has strong feelings for four center backs, among them Lloyd Kelly of Bournemouth. Like Dier, Kelly is set to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2023–24 campaign.
Kelly has no plans to extend his contract, according to the source, so Bournemouth will either have to cash in over the winter or lose him for free next year. Spurs reportedly made a late summer window bid of £20 million for Kelly, but Kelly appears to have rejected it.
In addition to Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace, Kelly is one of two Premier League-based targets for Spurs. He could face fierce competition from AC Milan, Juventus, and Liverpool.
Since the England international’s contract expires in the summer of 2026, the Eagles are not under much pressure to sell, and it might require a price of at least £60 million for Palace to start talks.
The North London giants are also keeping an eye on Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen and Perr Schuurs of Torino, though the latter’s hopes of making a big move could be dashed by a serious ACL injury.
The international player for Burkina Faso, Tapsoba, only recently inked a new long-term contract with Leverkusen in September; the agreement is not set to expire until the summer of 2028.
After two straight losses, Tottenham is fourth in the table heading into the international break. They will play again at home against Aston Villa on November 26 and then go to the Etihad to play champion Manchester City on December 3.
