Tottenham Hotspur have expressed their interest in signing a new centre-back who they could get for a relatively cheap fee, with manager Ange Postecoglou making moves to reinforce his disjointed backline.
Tottenham without van de Ven, Romero and Davies until late January
Spurs will have to cope without their trio of first-choice centre-backs in Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies for even more time as they face a plethora of looming back-to-back January fixtures.
Postecoglou has just days in between each game to prepare throughout this month, as the Lilywhites prepare for a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool, Tamworth in the FA Cup, a North London Derby away to Arsenal, Everton at home, Hoffenheim in the Europa League, Leicester City and Elfsborg.
The matches are coming thick and fast for Spurs, and they'll have to play most of them minus van de Ven, Romero and Davies, with Postecoglou confirming that the three senior defenders won't return until late January.
"Yeah, at this stage, Richy and Mikey will be the next two off the rank," said Postecoglou on Tottenham team news before their clash with Newcastle.
"Hopefully next week at some point, and then Ben, Micky van de Van and Romero, all kind of around the same time, so that back end of January, they're all sort of slated to return."
While Tottenham are closing in on a deal for Slavia Prague goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, their lack of options in defence has prompted many reports that Spurs could look to bring in another centre-half as well before the end of this month, and many interesting names have been linked.
RC Lens starlet Abdukodir Khusanov, Leeds United star Pascal Struijk, Feyenoord stalwart David Hancko, PSG's Milan Skriniar, Getafe's Omar Alderete, Inter Milan sensation Yann Bisseck and Borussia Mönchengladbach stalwart Ko Itakura are all centre-backs reportedly on Tottenham's radar, as technical director Johan Lange seeks to bolster Postecoglou's back line.
Itakura could be available at a cut-price for Spurs in January, as his contract expires in the summer of 2026, so the Japan international could be an attractive option.
Tottenham could sign Udinese defender Kristensen for just £14 million
However, he isn't their only prudent target, as it is believed Udinese colossus Thomas Kristensen is attracting serious interest from N17.
That is according to Messaggero Veneto, as translated by Sport Witness, who claim that Tottenham are eyeing a January move for Kristensen, and his club are prepared to let him leave this month for just £14 million.
The 6 foot 6 Denmark Under-21 international was one of Udinese's best-performing players by average match rating throughout the entirety of 2023/2024, according to WhoScored, and his age indicates that there is scope for him to improve even more.
Once van de Ven and Romero return, he would also have to contend with a more bit-part role, so Spurs won't want to splash the cash on a too illustrious defender in a bid not to upset the apple cart. However, they do face competition from Leicester City to secure a deal for the Dane.