Want a fresh transfer rumor? You know you do, and I’ve got you covered. Today, there’s a rumor from Telegraph reporter Mike McGrath that Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a potential move for 23-year-old Burkina Faso and Manchester City fullback Issa Kaboré.
Kaboré spent last season on loan at a pretty bad Luton Town team that got relegated back to the Championship, but Kaboré himself wasn’t awful at his job. If you’re an FBRef green bar junkie, his stats don’t exactly pop — good tackle and progressive carrying numbers (inverted fullback klaxon!) but his passing looks pretty uhhhhhhhhhhh.
That said, his £12m price tag is reasonable and considering Luton were a bad team last season there’s cause to cock your head, squint, and convince yourself that he could be serviceable depth at the right back position, should Tottenham sell Emerson Royal to AC Milan as expected.
OK, I hear you shouting at your screen BUT WHAT ABOUT DJED SPENCE and you’re absolutely right about that — the Djedessance seems to be in full effect and he’s done better than anyone had any right to expect from a player that Antonio Conte dismissed as a “club signing” a few years ago. But hear me out — it could very well be that this rumor is emerging because the club hasn’t quite decided whether Spence is good enough for what Ange wants out of the position. If that’s the case, then keeping options open for a serviceable right back who has proven to be a Premier League caliber footballer is probably a smart idea.
I’d like to see Spence be given the chance — he’ll have a good opportunity starting next week to train and play with Spurs’ first choice defensive line, and that plus the second Bayern friendly at the Tottenham Stadium should be illuminating. Financially it’s better to use the resources you already have and we have a Djed Spence at home — but if for whatever reason Ange Postecoglou takes a good hard look at him and thinks he’s not the guy then it’s a really smart idea to have a backup plan in place.
So keep this one in your back pocket for now, because it looks like some dominos are being set up, at least contingently.