A CBS reporter has hinted that Tottenham could sign an "interesting" £25 million centre-back option next month as Ange Postecoglou seeks new defenders.
Spurs kickstart January transfer plans
As already shared by Postecoglou, Spurs are already "pushing hard" behind-the-scenes for new signings. The Australian told Standard Sport last week that he is eager to get players in through the door early, rather than wait till the latter stages of January.
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"It is challenging, [but] the reason [we want to do business early] is obviously where we're at injury-wise and the players we're going to miss," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's transfer policy.
"We've got some significant games in January and signing somebody late in the month could mean they haven't been able to make an impact in those games."
"We're pushing hard, but you need all parties to agree. Other clubs, particularly if it's players they want [to keep], will be wanting to hold on to them for as long as possible for their own reasons through January."
As widely reported, Spurs are prioritising the signing of a new centre-half in the winter – coming after an injury to Micky van de Ven and recent suspension for Cristian Romero exposed their real shortage in that area.
Tottenham have opened talks over signing Jean-Clair Todibo as one option, according to British media outlets like football.london, but that isn't to say there aren't alternatives to the Frenchman.
One player to be linked more sporadically is Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, for instance.
Suggestion Chalobah could join Tottenham
CBS journalist Ben Jacobs, speaking on The Debrief this week, shared an update on the likelihood of him becoming a Postecoglou player. He suggested that Tottenham is a possible landing spot for Chalobah ahead of January, coming after Fabrizio Romano claimed he'll cost around £25m.
“Trevoh Chalobah will be an interesting name," said Jacobs.
"Bayern was his club of destination, but you might find a Premier League club come in. Nottingham Forest tried, but he wanted European football, at that point Spurs weren’t on the radar because they’d just signed Micky Van de Ven. He’s available on the market and probably at quite a good price as Chelsea want to resolve that one early in the window. Don’t be surprised if Tottenham pivot from this longer-term young centre-back to maybe a more proven Premier League player who can do a job until some of these other names come back."
While Mauricio Pochettino isn't believed to be Chalobah's biggest admirer, with the Englishman also suffering real injury problems this season, ex-Blues boss Graham Potter did publicly praise Chalobah as an "impressive" character.
Appearances – 25
Passing accuracy – 88.5%
Average match rating – 6.47
Clearances made per 90 – 2.2
Yellow cards – 4
"He wasn’t in for the first couple of games, but acted perfectly: trained really well, very professional, very determined. He’s an impressive character, very focused on his football," said Potter (via chelseafc.com).
"He’s a bit of a soldier. He’s played in all the games, we’re having some problems in terms of availability for players, but he’s stood up, stood in and he’s performing at a really good level."