Tottenham to steal Prem star from Arsenal clutches, with Postecoglou ‘desperate’ for signing after major blow
Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly and Brentford striker Ivan Toney
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to ramp up their pursuit of Bournemouth star Lloyd Kelly following an injury to Micky van de Ven, in a move which would see rivals Arsenal miss out.
Kelly had the offer to leave Bournemouth in the summer transfer window as Tottenham submitted a £20million bid for him on deadline day. However, the centre-back did not go anywhere as Bournemouth swiftly rejected that offer.
Bournemouth’s decision was justified, as Kelly remains an integral player for them, having captained the Cherries in recent Premier League games against Burnley and Manchester City.
Although, Bournemouth could end up paying the price for that summer transfer decision. Kelly’s contract at the Vitality Stadium expires at the end of the season, and on November 2 Fabrizio Romano revealed that Bournemouth have no option to extend that deal.
On Monday, TEAMtalk exclusively revealed that Bournemouth will do all they can to keep Kelly in January, by rejecting more offers for him and also entering talks over a new contract. However, the 25-year-old knows there is growing interest in his services, and he could therefore push to leave the club midway through the campaign. This would in turn force Bournemouth to accept a cut-price bid.
Spurs have generally been named as Kelly’s prime suitors. But Arsenal recently burst into the chase for him, with Mikel Arteta eyeing a double deal for both Kelly and Galatasaray full-back Sacha Boey.
READ MORE: Tottenham gutted as big transfer misstep leaves Postecoglou scrambling without vital cover
Both the Evening Standard and The Sun have now provided updates on Kelly’s situation. They state that Spurs are ready to step up their hunt for him after it emerged that Van De Ven will be out until the new year with the hamstring injury he suffered against Chelsea.
On Friday, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed that Van De Ven will be out for ‘a couple of months’, while James Maddison will also be out until January as his ankle problem is ‘a lot worse’ than originally thought.
Lloyd Kelly could replace Eric Dier at Tottenham
The Sun claim Postecoglou is ‘desperate’ for centre-back reinforcements as he does not fully trust Eric Dier, who is now set to come into the starting eleven as Cristian Romero has been banned for three games.
Spurs’ predicament will see them do all they can to sign Kelly and bolster Postecoglou’s defensive options. This perfectly sets up a transfer battle between Spurs and Arsenal, with both teams poised to enter negotiations with Bournemouth.
Should the former England U21 international end up going to the Emirates, then Spurs do have other players they can pursue. They are known to be admirers of Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba, while fellow Spurs target Victor Nelsson is set to be sold by Galatasaray this winter.
Spurs’ great start to the season has also been rocked by an injury to forward Richarlison, whom Postecoglou expects to be out for a month after he underwent groin surgery. In order to replace Richarlison, Spurs could go all guns blazing for a Serie A winger.