‘Tottenham move for bargain De Winter to leave cash for Frank’s priority Wharton’
Tottenham are looking to sign Genoa defender Koni De Winter in a deal that would see funds left to make a move for top target Adam Wharton this summer.
Spurs have already had a busy summer with Thomas Frank hired as their new boss, but more incomings and outgoings are expected in the coming months as the new season edges ever closer.
Frank will undoubtedly want to bolster his defensive options following their 17th-placed finish in the Premier League last term, and he recently received a huge boost after Atletico Madrid ended their pursuit of key Spurs centre-back Cristian Romero.
Football Insider revealed in March that Genoa would be happy to sell defender De Winter this summer amid interest from the likes of Everton and Wolves.
The Belgian international centre-back is now on Tottenham’s radar after an impressive season in Serie A, and he could be brought in soon as Frank looks to add a cheaper addition to his backline so the club can focus their funds on a key midfield target.
Thomas Frank wants Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton
With defensive additions on Spurs’ agenda, a new report from The i states that Frank’s side are have contacted Genoa over a move for De Winter, who is valued at just £22m by the selling club.
Their main potential stumbling block looks to rival interest from Serie A giants Inter Milan, who are further along in negotiations for De Winter with Genoa, while the Belgian international is happy to stay in Italy.
Their report also claims that De Winter’s reasonable price-tag should mean his transfer progresses quickly, so Tottenham are in a “race against time” with Inter, but completing a deal to sign him for a lesser fee will leave funds for Spurs to reportedly ramp up their pursuit of Crystal Palace midfielder Wharton, who is Frank’s top target.
Football Insider revealed in February that Tottenham were plotting a summer move for Wharton, so now that Frank is at the helm and is a “long-term admirer” of the £80-million-rated England international, an approach could be on its way to Selhurst Park soon.
Tottenham will face strong competition for Wharton
Football Insider verdict
Wharton has emerged as one of English football’s brightest young talents over the last 18 months, and his extremely highly-rated status is set to make Spurs’ pursuit of his services a really tough one ahead of the new campaign.
Former scout Mick Brown told Football Insider in May that Man City are the front-runners to sign Wharton ahead of Liverpool and Spurs, so it does seem like a tough ask for the North London outfit to convince him to join ahead of either of those two teams.
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Brown also recently revealed to Football Insider that both Real Madrid and Barcelona have joined the race to sign Wharton, but Palace are not willing to let him leave this summer, which serves as another setback for Spurs.
With that strong rival interest and Spurs’ £60m pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White in mind, it certainly seems unlikely that Frank gets his wish of signing Wharton this summer, so they may well be better off spending big on a centre-back instead.