Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly stepping up interest in Le Havre skipper Arouna Sangante ahead of the January transfer window.
According to Football Insider, Tottenham are among a host of Premier League clubs that have taken a keen interest in Le Havre defender Arouna Sangante.
Sangante is from Dakar, Senegal, but he kick-started his career in France, joining Parisian sides Cosmos Saint-Denis and Red Star at the youth level. Le Havre signed Sangante as a teenager and have brought him up through their famed ranks.
The likes of Steve Mandanda, Dimitri Payet, and Lassana Diarra have all spent time in the Le Havre Academy. Sangante could now be their next big sale, having become a key first-team player over the last three years.
Last season, the 21-year-old played 35 games in Ligue 2, scoring three goals and providing two assists as his side earned promotion back to the top flight. At just 21 years old, Sangante is the youngest captain in Ligue 1, and under his leadership, they are currently sitting comfortably in 11th place in Ligue 1. Sangante has yet to earn a first Senegal call-up, but it won’t be long before Aliou Cisse makes contact with him.
There is significant interest in the rising star from various clubs across Europe, with several English teams involved in the pursuit of his signature, according to Le Havre president Jean-Michel Roussier.
Roussier told Football Insider: “It is true we have had some interest in Sangante and mainly from English Premier League clubs,” Roussier exclusively told Football Insider.
“I believe as many as seven English clubs have been to watch Sangante here in Le Havre and also at away games. We received an offer from a club, but it was not suitable for us.
“In a perfect world if we receive a suitable offer in January that suits all parties, then hopefully we can have Sangante back on loan until June so he can finish the season with Le Havre.”
Tottenham have been dealing with a horde of injuries and suspensions in the central defensive department all season. Cristian Romero was forced off at half-time with a tight hamstring in Saturday’s narrow 2-1 win over Everton and has been ruled out for up to five weeks, while Micky van de Ven has missed the last seven Premier League matches with a hamstring injury of his own.
They have already been linked with a host of centre-backs to provide cover and competition, from Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo to Bournemouth’s versatile defender Lloyd Kelly, but it seems Sangante is intriguing them more than anyone, having watched his last four home games ahead of the transfer window reopening in January.
Sangante penned a new deal with Le Havre in July, which is expected to run until June 2026, but it is understood that the club are willing to cash in on the player in the next transfer window given they can get him back on loan until the end of the season.
That type of operation may not suit the north Londoners, who are looking to bring in an immediate centre-back reinforcement in the January transfer window after Romero’s recent injury setback.
