Tottenham are leading the chase of Schalke center back Benedikt Howedes as manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to add quality to his back line once the transfer window opens.
Howedes is considered as one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga and is a regular starter for the German national team as well. At 27, Howedes is ready for a move abroad as he had himself revealed in February that he isn’t far away from a potential move in the future.
The Schalke captain had said back then that England could be his next destination, “I’m fine here, but in the future I could move on.
“I believe that if I leave the club it won’t be to remain in this league. I can imagine going abroad to gain a new experience and I think England is possibly my next destination.”
Howedes has just over two years remaining on his contract and he could cost as low as A?13m which will definitely be a bargain considering his talent. However, the problem for Tottenham is that there are clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea looming over them and the duo have much greater financial power compared to them. As a result, in case a bidding war starts, Tottenham will slowly get eliminated from the picture the more longer the episode goes on. We could hence see Pochettino and Tottenham go for Howedes immediately when the transfer window opens and then decide whom to sell as they already have a considerable number of defenders present at the club who haven’t impressed.
Pochettino has the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Vlad Chiriches, Federico Fazio, Eric Dier and YounA?s Kaboul at his disposal but has stuck to Vertonghen, Fazio and Dier more often. If at all Howedes arrives in the summer, it’s likely that Kaboul will be sold as the Frenchman hasn’t had a good season so far and has made a limited number of appearances.
Howedes could be a very good deal for Tottenham as the German is a leader at the back and can be very versatile at times. Howedes was employed as a left back by Germany’s manager Joachim Low during the World Cup and he did a good job despite being a right footed player and a center back by nature. Howedes also has excellent pace and reads the game well, so he’ll form a good partnership with Vertonghen at the back.