Tottenham backed to land England ‘leader’ who’ll leave Chelsea red-faced despite major Daniel Levy concern
A Tottenham move for a £50m-plus-rated England international has been given the thumbs up, though there’s a lingering concern Daniel Levy will get cold feet when the time comes.
Despite enduring an up and down season, Tottenham may yet sneak into fourth spot. Doing so would salvage what can otherwise only be described as a disappointing campaign, especially when observing what is transpiring across north London at the Emirates.
Antonio Conte has paid the price for a poor campaign with his job. His number two, Cristian Stellini, will take charge for the remainder of the season while assisted by Ryan Mason.
Tottenham’s next permanent manager will face a number of immediate challenges once appointed, with many coming in the transfer market.
Indeed, a new starting goalkeeper is wanted amid Hugo Lloris’ dramatic downturn in form. Retaining Harry Kane is a must, while addressing what has been a leaky defence is also on the agenda.
To that end, a permanent move for Barcelona loanee Clement Lenglet is reportedly ‘advancing’. However, the veteran Frenchman cannot be the only new permanent arrival at centre-half.
The Evening Standard reported Tottenham were sizing up Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi in February. Football Transfers and Football Insider both subsequently echoed those claims, with the former touting a potential £45m bid and the latter labelling Spurs as frontrunners for Guehi.
The 22-year-old moved to Selhurst Park for around £18m in the summer of 2021. He’s shone with the Eagles and has since become a mainstay in Gareth Southgate’s England squads.
Now, speaking to Football Insider, former Spurs right-back Alan Hutton, threw his backing behind a summer swoop.
Hutton believes centre-back is an area his former club “definitely need to strengthen.” In his mind, Guehi would be an ideal signing given his form this term, his leadership qualities, and the fact he has big club experience through his time at Chelsea.
The Blues have since forked out hefty sums to sign many a centre-half since selling Guehi. Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Benoit Badiashile cost roughly £135m combined and seeing Guehi – who they sold for just £18m – join Spurs would be a bitter pill to swallow.
READ MORE: Tottenham intend to complete £30.7m summer signing regardless of who becomes next manager
Tottenmam wise to target Guehi… but will Levy pay?
When asked if Palace suffering relegation would increase Spurs’ chances of pouncing, Hutton said: “It would definitely make it more likely.
“The only fact in that is Chelsea let him go for next to nothing, it was not a huge transfer fee. They buy in all these defenders and then we talk about him being worth £50m/£60m, football can be crazy in terms of one season.
“Of course if they go down I think it is an area Tottenham will definitely need to strengthen.
“I think Guehi has had an excellent season, he seems like a leader to me, he knows what the Premier League is all about.
“He has been at a big football club so he is someone that I think would be able to deal with the pressure that comes with playing at Tottenham. I think that could be a good move.
“But, is Daniel Levy willing to spend that sort of money? That is the big question.“
Football Transfers previously reported Spurs would top out at £45m when it comes to stumping up the cash for Guehi.
If Palace avoid relegation and therefore aren’t under as much pressure to sell, they may well stick to their reported £50m-£60m valuation.
In that scenario, all eyes will be on Levy and how determined he is to give the next Tottenham manager a Premier League-proven centre-half from day one.
