Premier League giants Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are both reportedly interested in Athletic Club centre-back Dani Vivian.
According to Fichajes, Dani Vivian’s solid showings for Athletic Club this season have attracted quite a few potential suitors despite him joining the club’s first team just this season. Manchester United and Tottenham have both shown interest but they will have to stave off competition from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.
An Athletic Club youth product, Vivian was promoted to the club’s first team in 2020 but couldn’t break into the squad. He was sent on a year-long loan to Mirandes in the summer of 2020 and was quite impressive for them, making 32 appearances in the 2020/21 season. Athletic slotted him immediately into the starting XI upon return, and he has proved his worth.
A hamstring injury kept him out of first-team action for quite a bit, but he has been solid since returning to the squad. Vivian has made 21 appearances across competitions this season, scoring twice and assisting one goal. With the defender putting in one commanding performance after another, he is attracting interest from all across Europe.
Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are both keeping tabs on Vivian as they look to add defensive reinforcements ahead of the next season. But the defender is attracting interest from outside Spain as well. Both Manchester United and Tottenham could move in for him.
The two Premier League sides are looking at a highly important transfer window this summer. Under Antonio Conte, Spurs are undergoing a resurgence but the Italian tactician would need summer additions to move up the table next season.
Central defence is one of the areas Spurs are interested in improving as Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga are expected to leave in the summer. At the same time, Davinson Sanchez has not been consistent enough. So, Tottenham can do with shoring up their defensive line and Vivian has emerged as a potential option.
Manchester, on the other hand, are also aiming to improve their defence ahead of the next season after what has been a disastrous campaign. With a new manager set to arrive this summer, United are eager to make significant improvements to the squad and centre-back is one of the areas they are looking to improve despite the arrival of Raphael Varane last summer.
The Manchester United backline has been all over the place with Harry Maguire, in particular, proving to be a major liability. And with Eric Bailly and Phil Jones on their way out a new centre-half would be a necessary addition. Vivian, to that end, has popped up on their radars, along with several other names.
It will be interesting to see if either Tottenham or United act on their interest in the Athletic Club star, who is valued at around €40 million.
