Tottenham Hotspur have identified Kurt Zouma as an alternative for Cristian Romero, but the Frenchman could be on his way to Sevilla.
According to reliable Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Tottenham Hotspur have identified Chelsea ace Kurt Zouma as an alternative to their priority centre-back target, Cristian Romero.
Spurs are set for a fresh beginning under Nuno Espirito Santo and will need to address some key weaknesses in the squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. One key area is the defence, where the club lacks an automatic first-choice pairing at centre-back, let alone a leader.
With Jan Vertoghen no longer around and Toby Alderweireld following suit, the club is now without a dependable senior centre-back. Eric Dier has blown hot and cold while Davinson Sanchez has failed to develop as expected. Neither of them can be trusted to lead the backline in the upcoming season.
One of the names in the fray is that of Atalanta defender Cristiano Romero. The Argentine star was last season’s defensive MVP from Serie A and has quickly emerged as one of the top young defenders in Europe. Romero is technically a Juventus player on loan at Atalanta. The latter is expected to make the deal permanent and then flip him for a hefty asking price of €55 million fee.
A significant amount, Tottenham are considering other options and have now identified Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma as an alternative. The Frenchman is available for a lower price of €25m and already has Premier League experience to boot. More so, Spurs can also make use of the amount saved to bring in another defender such as Takehiro Tomiyasu and Nikola Milenkovic.
Such an approach will give the North Londoners strength in numbers. After all, a complete revamp of the backline is needed if Spurs are serious about challenging for the top.
Zouma has had his ups and downs at Stamford Bridge and started the 2020/21 campaign as a regular. However, he had to increasingly settle for a place on the bench as the campaign wore on. This dip in playtime could hint that Thomas Tuchel is unconvinced by his talents and is seeking a replacement.
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Chelsea are linked with Sevilla defender Jules Kounde and have offered Zouma in part exchange to the Andalusians. Such a deal could very well throw a spanner in Tottenham’s efforts to land him. In all, it could very well be a bullet dodged.
A grossly inconsistent player, Zouma is not someone who encourages calmness at the back. His penchant for making errors or often losing the player he is marking have proven detrimental to Chelsea over the years. There are multiple reasons he failed to make the cut at Stamford Bridge, and Spurs will, in all likelihood, be dodging a bullet.
While going for Zouma could also free up funds to bring in two more centre-backs, whether any of them are players that Tottenham can build a defence around is debatable. Daniel Levy & co. are better off going big on Romero and making him the lynchpin of their defensive rebuild. Quality over quantity should be Spurs’ mantra this summer, and Romero is someone who will add just that.
