Third source confirms Tottenham preparing to stun Arsenal for £45m transfer that’ll see sub-par pair expelled

Tottenham are ‘ready to rival’ Arsenal for a Premier League centre-back who’s arrival could spell the end for an unworthy pair, per reports.

Spurs torpedoed their own chances of securing qualification for next season’s Champions League over the past few weeks.

Crunch clashes against Newcastle and Man Utd were virtual must-wins if Tottenham had any hope of leapfrogging either side and into the top four.

However, Tottenham capitulated against Newcastle, shipping five unanswered goals inside the first 20 minutes. They later gave Man Utd a two-goal head start before most recently falling three behind against Liverpool.

Spurs would collect just a single point from those three clashes, a return that has all but ended their chances of securing fourth spot.

Clearly, there is both a mentality issue as well as a defensive one. The former will be up to the new manager to iron out, while the latter can be remedied in the transfer market.

To that end, both Football Transfers and Football Insider previously reported Tottenham are sizing up Crystal Palace centre-half, Marc Guehi.

The 22-year-old has become a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squads on the back of his stellar displays with the Eagles. Guehi was an £18m signing from Chelsea back in 2021, though his value has since soared.

Indeed, Football Transfers reported Palace will demand £65m before parting ways with their star centre-half this summer. The outlet claimed Tottenham believe a more realistic valuation is £45m.

Football Insider later stated Spurs ‘lead the race’ for Guehi who is also attracting interest from Arsenal.

Fabrizio Romano revealed the Gunners are scouting Guehi and Arsenal’s own defensive collapse since William Saliba was ruled out with a back injury is emboldening them to target a defensive recruit at season’s end.

Now, a fresh update from the Evening Standard has confirmed both north London clubs are sizing up Guehi.

Guehi arrival could oust Tottenham pair

The report stated Spurs have ‘long-standing interest’ in the player and his arrival would offset the exit of Barcelona loanee, Clement Lenglet.

Lenglet is unlikely to earn a permanent move to Tottenham and will reportedly return to Spain once the campaign concludes.

The ES add that aside from Lenglet, there are also doubts over the future of Davinson Sanchez.

The Colombian has never convinced in a Tottenham shirt and his future is labelled ‘uncertain’. If Guehi were to sign, the chances of Sanchez being allowed to leave would greatly increase.

Regarding Arsenal, the need for greater strength in depth on the right side of their centre-back pairing has become painfully clear.

The Gunners haven’t kept a single clean sheet in the six matches in which Rob Holding has deputised for Saliba after the Frenchman picked up a back injury.

As such, Guehi would represent a superb signing for either side, though he’d stand a far greater chance of becoming an immediate first-team regular at Tottenham. Saliba – once fully fit – will be near-impossible to shift from Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven.

While not stating any concrete figures, the Evening Standard noted Chelsea would be due a ‘sizeable percentage’ from a Guehi transfer. Presumably, the Blues inserted a sell-on clause when selling Guehi to Palace in 2021.

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