Jose Mourinho is reportedly eager to keep Tottenham centre-back Japhet Tanganga at the club for the long-term with the youngster’s deal with Spurs expiring next summer.
According to Football Insider, the Portuguese manager is keen on convincing the 20-year-old defender that his future in football belongs at Tottenham, with Mourinho reportedly ready to ‘roll out the red carpet’ for the young defender to keep him in north London.
Tanganga came to the attention of supporters over the summer in pre-season when the Hackney-born centre-back impressed both fans and then-manager Mauricio Pochettino in both the International Champions Cup and the Audi Cup, in which the prospect featured heavily in.
Will Mourinho's give youth players a chance?YesNo |
His performances in the summer has seen Tanganga feature occasionally in the Tottenham first-team, with stats from Transfermarkt showing that the defender has already played an hour of senior football with the Premier League side this season.
Indeed, it is clear to see why Mourinho is eager to keep Tanganga at the club for the long-term future with the England youth international seemingly viewed by members of Tottenham as a future replacement for Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, who just like the youngster have their deals up in the summer next year.
With the Portuguese manager also reportedly set to loan out Tanganga in January along with fellow youngster Oliver Skipp as reported by The Evening Standard, any new deal for the centre-back will likely be dished out sooner rather than later for the promising defender.
Although Mourinho is a manager that prefers readymade players in the prime of their careers, it appears that the former Manchester United boss is eager to keep up the tradition of promoting from the youth academy that Tottenham have proudly done over the past few years, and Tanganga is set to benefit from that.