While the general response to Tottenham Hotspur’s January business was a general murmur of content from the vast majority of the fanbase (a miracle of sorts, given how generally hard our fans are to please!), the feeling still lingers among many that the club could do with an upgrade (or two, or three) in the centre-back department.
This was a segment of the ‘Antonio Conte rebuild project’ that was seen as ‘one for the summer’ rather than the here and now, as indicated by us not signing a centre-back in January.
Given that our current system deploys three of them in the starting XI in any given point in time, signing one or two would not be an unwise course of action. With it looking increasingly unlikely that Clement Lenglet’s temporary stay from Barcelona will become a permanent one, and Ben Davies approaching his 30s, the need for a left-footed centre-back is becoming clearer by the day.
Moreover, question marks around the reliability of Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez, as well as Eric Dier’s frequent lapses in concentration, have led to many to call for another centre-back to be signed who is capable of playing in the middle or right of the back three in the absence of Cristian Romero, perhaps.
For those reasons, Spurs have been linked with a multitude of centre-backs since Conte’s arrival. The most recent name among those links is that of Marc Guehi (read about those links here), Palace’s left-footed 22-year-old English international centre-back. While being homegrown and left-footed means that Guehi ticks two important boxes in our long-term squad requirements, he is still relatively fresh on the scene and is yet to resoundingly prove himself to doubters.
While the dream signing for many fans would RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol, the Croatian’s youth, long-term contract with the Germans and his lengthy line of suitors comprising the entirety of Europe’s elites (including Man City, Chelsea, Barcelona) would probably Leipzig stick a hefty price-tag on his head that would be too rich for ENIC’s blood.
Others may call for another homegrown body such as Wolves’ Max Kilman, or soon-to-be free agents such as Eintracht Frankfurt’s Evan N’Dicka or familiar target Milan Skriniar of Inter Milan, but with the latter pretty much off to PSG in the summer and the former’s agent demanding an obscene pay packet, moves for either look highly unlikely.
Returning to left-footers, Piero Hincapie seems a relatively more obtainable target, and it was said that Spurs put feelers out for the Ecuadorian on deadline day a few weeks back before being knocked back by Bayer Leverkusen. Long-term target Alessandro Bastoni’s contract renewal talks with Inter also seem to be stalling, perhaps offering renewed hope for Spurs should they fancy returning for the Italian.
However, with doubts still existing around Conte’s long-term future, the need for a glut of incoming centre-backs is uncertain. Irrespective of who is in charge, however, Spurs could benefit from a centre-back reshuffle of sorts, so the question to readers is who would you like to see come in, and who would you like to see go out at the back at Hotspur Way?
Have your say on Spurs’ centre-back improvement mission by visiting the Vital Spurs fan forum here.