Spur’s all-star central defensive pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are 32 and 30-years-old respectively and now the club’s hierarchy are looking to bring in a promising young centre-half from a Premier League rival, according to Sky Sports.
They claim that Nathan Ake fits the bill for Daniel Levy and Co. with the 23-year old Dutchman impressive since his switch to the South coast from Chelsea in 2017.
That move was valued at £20m but having been a mainstay in the Cherries side since, the versatile defender would be expected to fetch significantly more than that this time around.
Having come through the Chelsea academy, Ake has homegrown player status, which is of added value to the London club, whose current squad falls short on the required 8 players of that ilk, meaning they began this season with a squad of 24, instead of a possible 25.
The possibilities of them landing his signature, assuming Bournemouth would be minded to accept a bid in the upcoming windows, would be complicated by the relationship between them and the player’s former club, Chelsea.
The Mirror claimed earlier this week that the Blues have a “gentleman’s agreement” with the club over Ake, something approaching an informal first-refusal on his next move.
That might well prove an impediment to the progress of any move.
This comes a Marca report that Toby Alderweireld, whose current deal expires in the summer, is somewhere down the list of centre-halves that Spanish champions Barcelona are set to pursue in the winter window as they combat a shortage in the position.
