Ten Hag threatens Postecoglou dream as Man Utd bid to snatch Tottenham target who is ‘ready to move’

Ange Postecoglou’s interest in bringing Sebastian Caceres to Tottenham in January faces ruin amid claims the Uruguay defender is ‘ready to leave’ his current employers and amid strong interest from Manchester United.

The Aussie boss has Tottenham flying high at the top of the table after recording the best start to life by any new manager in the history of the Premier League. Indeed, Spurs have won seven of their nine games played so far and have in James Maddison arguably the player of the season so far.

Remarkably, they have managed to achieve that without the services of Harry Kane, the talismanic striker leaving for Bayern Munich in a quest to pick up some silverware before the chance passes him by.

Postecoglou’s tactics – which include a high press, operating in a 4-2-3-1 formation – has paid rich dividends and they have conceded just eight goals so far – the joint second-best in the Premier League so far.

Indeed, the partnership of Micky van der Ven and Cristian Romero at the back looks as good as any around, though Tottenham do have concerns they would be light of options should either player suffer an injury.

To that end, they also have Eric Dier and the inexperienced Ashley Phillips in reserve. But with Dier destined to leave in January and securing an unbelievable move in the process, Spurs are in the market to bring in another centre-half.

Edmond Tapsoba is one player who would be a dream signing for Postecoglou, but Bayer Leverkusen’s reluctance to sell means his price tag could push £60m – beyond what Tottenham would be willing to spend.

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Man Utd threaten Tottenham plan to sign Sebastian Caceres

As an alternative, however, Spurs are strongly considering a move to sign Caceres, who has made himself a fixture in the Uruguay side under Marcelo Bielsa in recent times. The 24-year-old currently plays for Mexican side CF America, but is now reportedly agitating to move to Europe to further his game and his earnings.

To that end, Mexican newspaper Record claims Caceres is more than aware in the interest in his services with his club ‘getting the idea’ that his departure is likely in either January or the summer.

Furthermore, it’s claimed that Caceres has made clear that he is ‘ready to move’, while the player’s exit ‘does not seem so far away’.

In addition, CF America already ‘have knowledge of the clubs keen’ on their star man and are preparing themselves to receive a formal offer for his services, possibly as soon as December and ahead of the winter window.

However, Tottenham will not have it all their own way in the quest to land the classy centre-half, with Sevilla – whose director of football Victor Orta knows Bielsa well from their time together at Leeds – also being tipped off about his qualities.

Ten Hag keen on Postecoglou transfer target

In addition to the LaLiga outfit, it’s now also claimed that Manchester United have also taken a strong interest in Caceres. United have struggled defensively this season with Erik ten Hag struggling to find the right balance in his backline and amid a plethora of injuries.

The Red Devils have been seeking an upgrade on Harry Maguire, though the England man appears to have played his way back into contention in recent weeks and scored the matchwinner in Tuesday’s 1-0 triumph over FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Whether that upturn is enough for Ten Hag to abandon his plans to sign a new defender in January or not remains to be seen. However, they are reportedly keeping a close watch on Caceres and he’s seemingly been added to their list of targets ahead of the January window.

As a result, Ten Hag reportedly places the biggest threat to Postecoglou’s dreams of signing the 5ft 11 defender, who has played the full 90 minutes in his country’s last four World Cup qualifiers.

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