Spurs close in on “incredible” £40.5m colossus once lauded as the “most promising” in Europe

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly closing in on their first signing of the summer transfer window, according to fresh claims emerging from Turkey.

Mehmet Demirko was speaking to beIN Manset, via Sport Witness, where he suggested that Schalke 04 centre-back Ozan Kabak was “on his way” to Spurs.

He said:

“Besiktas youngsters could make some mistakes. That’s normal. They will grow up and become better players. Just look at Ozan Kabak.

“He was consistently giving away penalties when he was at Galatasaray. But now, he has developed into a great centre back. And I heard that he’s on his way to Tottenham this season.”

Jose Mourinho is set to lose veteran Jan Vertonghen at the end of the current campaign whilst the future of Juan Foyth is up in the air, a new central defender could indeed be high on his list of priorities.

Kabak is an interesting option to consider, he himself idolises the Premier League’s top dog, Virgil van Dijk, and hopes to emulate him one day.

The 20-year-old’s career is on a massive upward trajectory as well having gone from Galatasaray to Stuttgart to Schalke in just three successive seasons – could a fourth in as many be on the horizon?

Per WhoScored, the Turkish international has averaged 3.6 clearances, 1.4 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 2.9 aerial duels won in the Bundesliga this year.

His impressive displays have also quite rightly earned glowing plaudits – Michael Reschke, former head of sport at Stuttgart, once described him as “one of the most promising young defenders in Europe.”

Whilst Thomas Hitzlsperger couldn’t stop with the superlatives, calling him “incredible,” “astonishing” and a “role model.”

These are all good traits to have and with Spurs possessing the second-worst defensive record from the PL’s top nine teams, Mourinho could certainly do with reinforcements in this area.

It’s thought that the emerging colossus has a release clause of ‘around €45m’ (£40.5m), according to Bild via Bulinews.