Serie A giants Juventus will reportedly compete with Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign versatile Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly.
According to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth (via GIVEMESPORT), Tottenham Hotspur could face stiff competition in their bid to land versatile Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly, with Serie A giants Juventus “going the extra mile” in their attempt to beat the north Londoners to his signature.
Sheth said to GMS, “The ones that are really quite serious at this stage are AC Milan and Juventus. AC Milan had scouts watching Lloyd Kelly. Even their technical director went to personally watch Lloyd Kelly as well. The Italian clubs, in recent history, have got this habit of going to the English clubs and bringing them to Serie A to offer them Champions League football and regular first-team football.”
“The likes of Fikayo Tomori went from Chelsea to AC Milan, and he has gone from strength to strength. What an advert he would be to other English players who were deciding whether to stay in England or go to the Italian league.”
Tottenham are scouring the January market for a new left-sided centre-back following Micky van de Ven’s injury. The Dutchman has been a standout player for Ange Postecoglou’s men since his move from Wolfsburg but was withdrawn with a serious-looking hamstring injury against Chelsea on Monday.
Regardless of the extent of the issue, the Australian coach is keen to bolster his dwindling options at the back. Other first-choice Cristian Romero is suspended after his sending off in the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea, leaving Eric Dier and 18-year-old Ashley Phillips as the only other natural centre-back options, showing a clear lack of quality depth in the department.
That is where Kelly comes into their sharp focus, with the Bournemouth man one of those rarer commodities of a left-footed centre-half. The 25-year-old has been on Spurs’ radar for a while now. Indeed, Kelly was reportedly the subject of late transfer interest from Tottenham last summer.
Spurs had made an offer of £20 million for Kelly, which was turned down by Bournemouth. The Cherries were hesitant to let their key defender leave so late in the transfer window since they did not have time to bring in a suitable replacement.
He has clocked up 117 competitive appearances for the Cherries since his move from Bristol City back in 2019, signing a five-year deal at the time. But with that arrangement due to expire at the end of the season, Spurs should be able to secure Kelly’s services for a bargain fee.
However, it seems Juventus have now joined Tottenham in the race to acquire Kelly’s signature. The Bianconeri have identified him as the right profile to replace Alex Sandro, who will put an end to a nine-year association with Juventus next summer when his existing contract expires.
Many feel that the Brazilian’s departure is overdue, as his levels have been on the decline in the last three years or so. Kelly would be a natural fit on the left side of Massimiliano Allegri’s three-man defence, a role that Sandro struggled to occupy.
