Tottenham in pole position to sign £30m-valued ace who would be ideal replacement for £50K-a-wk player

Founder & Managing Director AUTHORITY Former chief correspondent at Evening Standard, Goal and Press Association with nearly three decades in national, regional and digital news and sports journalism. Wayne directs the network’s news strategy and high-level operations. FOCUS Editorial direction for the 11-site network and newsroom management. THE BRIEF Wayne oversees the network’s editorial standards across the network. He provides the final sign-off on all headline scoops, ensuring content across all platforms meets the standards required for a high-velocity newsroom.

Published on:

01 Mar 2018, 2:03 pm

By Richard Parks

Tottenham are leading the race to sign Toulouse defender Issa Diop as they eye a top-class replacement for Toby Alderweireld, according to a report.

Broadcaster talkSPORT claim that Spurs lead the race for the France Under-21 international, who would be available to land this summer for around £30million.

It is said there is a growing belief that Toby Alderweireld is going to leave Spurs in the forthcoming window and that Mauricio Pochettino will want to replace him.

TalkSPORT report that Tottenham have been keeping close tabs on Diop, 21, in the past year as he has developed into a key player for Toulouse.

He has made 82 appearances in total for the Ligue 1 club, 28 of which have come this season.

Football Insider verdict:

Spurs have demonstrated that they are not afraid of spending big on centre-backs, even though they appear to be well served in that position through not only Alderweireld but Jan Vertonghen, £42million record signing Davinson Sanchez and Mr Versatility Eric Dier. Diop is a rising star of French football and looks a capable operator, who, under Pochettino and his canny coaching staff, could mature into the ideal long-term replacement for Alderweireld, who has reached a contract deadlock with Spurs as he looks for a massive increase on his current £50,000-a-week wages (ESPN FC).

In other Tottenham transfer news, the club have agreed terms to sign up a midfielder in a deal which Daniel Levy shook hands on two months ago.

Don’t miss out on breaking and exclusive Tottenham news by clicking here for our brilliant 24/7 updates on

and

Issa Diop