Tottenham are pondering their next move after a report claimed they had been quoted an asking price of “at least €50million” by RB Leipzig for midfield target Marcel Sabitzer.
A report last week claimed the Austrian midfielder was emerging as one of three top transfer targets for Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho when the transfer window reopens.
It was claimed the 26-year-old was already well known to Mourinho and his scouts but emerged as a player of genuine interest to them after starring over two legs as his RB Leipzig side put Tottenham to the sword in the Champions League.
Sabitzer scored twice to seal Spurs’ exit from the competition and has notched an impressive 15 goals and added eight assists in 34 games for the German side this season.
And with Leipzig having paid just £4m to bring Sabitzer to the Bundesliga from sister side Red Bull Salzburg in 2015, Bild claims the Bundesliga side have now slapped a minimum £45m price tag on his head in the wake of interest from Spurs.
And the German paper now claims Spurs are contemplating whether to launch an approach for the player, given his recent upturn in fortunes and whether his talents can translate to the Premier League and the Tottenham midfield.
“Last season, I was missing a little bit of calmness in front of goal. I’ve got that back,” Sabitzer said recently of his form in front of goal this season.
Mourinho invested pretty substantially in the January transfer window, signing Gedson Fernandes (loan, Benfica)
Giovani Lo Celso (£27.3m, permanent deal from Real Betis) and Steven Bergwijn (in a £26.7m transfer from PSV).
But it’s clear the clear still have plenty of work to do to further improve their squad and Mourinho is looking to add more of a creative threat to his midfield following the departure of Christian Eriksen to Inter Milan in January.
Mourinho wants new striker
Whether Sabitzer proves that man remains to be seen but Mourinho’s focus is likely to remain on bolstering his strikeforce, especially after the recent injuries suffered by Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.
“I cannot hide. If I say it’s easy to play three competitions without a striker, I’m going to lie. I cannot lie,” Mourinho said recently.
“But if it’s not possible, it’s not possible. For me the great thing is that we’re all together on this in the club.
“There’s nobody to blame.
“We don’t want a striker to just help us now. We want a striker to be good for our future, possibly to play with Harry Kane together in the future.
“And with the difficulties of the market, it was very, very difficult to find [one].
“In this moment, are we going to have a problem [at centre-forward]? Yes, we are going to have a problem. But that’s the way it is.”
