Juventus are reportedly interested in Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga, who is also a transfer target for their Serie A rivals AC Milan.
According to a report from Calciomercato, Tottenham Hotspur starlet Japhet Tanganga is on the radars of the two biggest clubs in Italy, with Juventus joining AC Milan in the race for his signing.
The 22-year-old is a product of Tottenham’s youth academy and made his first-team debut under Mauricio Pochettino in the early parts of the 2019/20 campaign. However, it was only under Jose Mourinho that Tanganga got an extended run in the senior side, and he made the most of his chances.
However, the versatile defender, who can play at centre-back and right-back, has been unlucky with injuries throughout his fledgeling senior career, which has restricted him to just 40 appearances so far. Tanganga has been handed a few opportunities by new manager Antonio Conte of late, but once Cristian Romero recovers fully from his injury, the young Englishman is expected to play a bit-part role.
As a result, he is believed to be open to a new adventure amid interest from Italy. AC Milan have emerged as a suitor for the 22-year-old Tanganga as they look for defensive reinforcements following the injury to Simon Kjaer. The Rossoneri, however, are only looking for a loan deal, whereas Tottenham would prefer an outright sale for a sum of €25 million, a figure that the Serie A giants cannot match at the moment.
It has now allowed Juventus to enter the fray for the signing of the Englishman. The report states that the Bianconeri are admirers of the defender and would be open to adding him to the roster midway through the campaign, given that some of their senior defenders have been struggling with injury and fitness problems.
Tottenham are already in talks with Juventus over a potential swap deal involving Tanguy Ndombele and Weston McKennie. And, the report claims that negotiations over another player exchange involving Tanganga and Dejan Kulusevski could start between the two clubs.
The Swedish winger has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham in recent weeks. With Juventus demanding a sum of €20 million for the forward, a potential swap deal that could see Kulusevski and Tanganga could pop up on the agenda for the Lilywhites if the Bianconeri decide to act on their interest in the 22-year-old defender.
As things stand, Tanganga seems to be a man in demand in Serie A. With his game-time likely to take a hit at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium once Romero returns from injury, it will be interesting to see if he ends up moving to Italy before the end of the month.
