Tottenham Hotspur are ready to battle Chelsea for the signing of Bournemouth star Illia Zabarnyi, it has been claimed.
According to a new report, Tottenham will ‘rival’ Chelsea for Zabarnyi after being hugely impressed by his ‘excellent’ displays in the Premier League. Ange Postecoglou’s side have been ‘tracking the player for a while’ and are ‘eager’ to add him to their ranks.
Spurs are on the hunt for centre-back reinforcements in case they lose Cristian Romero to Real Madrid, and Zabarnyi has emerged as their latest target.
Bournemouth recently tied the defender down to a bumper new contract which runs until June 2029, to reward him for his solid form.
Despite this, CaughtOffside claim Bournemouth will sell Zabarnyi if a bid worth £50million (€60m / $63.3m) comes in, which will put Spurs on alert.
Spurs will have to fend off London rivals Chelsea to land the Ukraine international, though.
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Tottenham, Chelsea in Zabarnyi fight
News of Postecoglou and Spurs’ interest in Zabarnyi comes after Chelsea registered their interest in him on Wednesday.
This could tee up a bidding war for the 22-year-old, who will surely secure a transfer to a major club if his great form continues.
Maresca ‘is thought to be a huge fan’ of Zabarnyi and his ability. The manager already has a number of centre-backs in his Blues squad, but he wants Zabarnyi to join and provide the likes of Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana with extra competition.
It will be interesting to see where the former Dynamo Kyiv man ends up, should both Spurs and Chelsea swoop in for him.
Chelsea may have underperformed in recent years, but they have enjoyed a great start to the season under Maresca, and this could convince Zabarnyi to head to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have also shown far more willingness to spend big on signings than Spurs.
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Should Spurs miss out on Zabarnyi, then they could go down a different path by landing Jonathan Tah.
Reports claim Spurs are ‘in talks’ with Tah’s camp about him moving to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when his Bayer Leverkusen contract expires in the summer.
Meanwhile, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Chelsea are monitoring Norwegian starlet Sverre Nypan, having scouted him on several occasions recently.
The 17-year-old midfielder is poised to leave Rosenborg at the end of the season as his contract expires in June 2026 and he is refusing to pen an extension.
Chelsea are competing with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund to sign Nypan, who has been compared to Martin Odegaard.