Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League • England
Euro giants ‘blitz’ Tottenham in race for Postecoglou target, as Fabrizio Romano confirms talks underway
Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly and Brentford striker Ivan Toney
Tottenham Hotspur might miss out on an Ange Postecoglou objective, as two sources have revealed Italian giants Milan are planning a stunning raid for Bournemouth star Lloyd Kelly.
Soon after arriving at Tottenham, Postecoglou decided that he needed more centre-backs. The manager was not convinced by senior options such as Eric Dier and Ben Davies.
This saw Tottenham land Micky van de Ven, who was previously courted by Liverpool. Van De Ven has proven to be a brilliant signing, as he has formed a solid partnership with Cristian Romero at the back. Rio Ferdinand has even labelled the 22-year-old ‘the real deal’.
Despite Postecoglou now being able to rely on Van De Ven and Romero as his first-choice centre-half pairing, he still needs another new defender to join Tottenham in January. This is because the North London side are expected to offload Dier prior to his contract expiring.
Spurs have been named as potential suitors for Bournemouth’s Kelly, with Postecoglou understood to be a big fan of the Englishman.
On September 9, Spurs were told that Bournemouth will be forced to accept a ‘cut-price offer’ for Kelly this winter, as his contract runs out next summer and they have no option to extend it.
Although, Spurs were then joined by Liverpool and Newcastle United in the hunt for the player.
There has now been a stunning twist, as Italian source Tuttosport claim Milan will ‘take on’ Spurs for Kelly’s potential capture.
Milan, Juventus both in for Tottenham target
The Serie A side sent technical director Geoffrey Moncada to watch Kelly in action during Bournemouth’s 2-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday. And the former England U21 international ‘passed this test with flying colours’, with Milan now trying to ‘blitz’ Spurs by winning the race for his services.
The shock interest from Milan has since been picked up by Fabrizio Romano. Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the journalist has stated that Milan are ‘working on a deal’ to take Kelly to Italy.
It seems Milan chiefs are in talks with Kelly’s agent as they try to find out the player’s contract demands, as well as how much Bournemouth might request for a January sale.
According to Romano, Milan view Kelly as an ‘interesting’ centre-back option for the present and future. At 25, he is a great age for a centre-half as he already has plenty of experience, but he also has his peak years ahead of him.
Milan are not the only Italian giant eyeing Kelly up, as Juventus are ‘interested and informed on the conditions of a potential deal’, too.
Romano ends his update by reiterating that Kelly’s contract expires at the end of the campaign, and Bournemouth do not have an option to extend it.
It will be intriguing to see whether Spurs now step up their hunt for Kelly to prevent him from leaving the Premier League entirely. If Postecoglou demands his signing, then it is likely chairman Daniel Levy will enter talks with his Bournemouth counterparts.
Alternatively, Kelly may be attracted by the potential of shining in a different league. The likes of Chris Smalling and Fikayo Tomori have impressed in Serie A since departing England.
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk understands Fulham must obliterate their transfer record in order to sign a Spurs striker target.