Tottenham ‘close’ to defender signing, but Levy warned over price tag

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly been told only an offer of €25m will be enough to land Japan defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Spurs have already made contact with the Serie A side for the versatile star.

The Sun reported last month that Spurs were confident of sealing a £15m deal for the 22-year-old.

A number of reports in Italy have declared the interest of Spurs and now that Nuno Espirito Santo is in place the deal could well be speeded up.

Spurs have already made their “first offer” of €18m for the Bologna man. Tuttosport reported on Monday the north London club could raise their proposal to €20m.

West Ham and Arsenal are also interested in the 23-cap international, according to Il Resto del Carlino. With the source suggesting Bologna have “refused” an offer worth €18m (€15m + €3m bonuses) from Atalanta and another bid of €20m from Spurs.

The goal posts seem to have moved on the valuation of the player, with the Bologna paper now claiming chairman Joey Saputo wants €25m for Tomiyasu.

The Canadian businessman is also unwilling to sell the player for any less. And a sale will only be done on his “own terms”.

So much so that Saputo, who is also the president of CF Montreal, has not held talks with interested suitors. Instead he has warned them only to “return to the office only with the requested sum” of €25m.

According to Calciomercato, the player “already has an agreement’ with Tottenham”. The problem is that Spurs have not matched the club’s valuation.

“They’re close but it’s not done yet,” said Fabrizio Romano on the Here We Go Podcast.