Premier League: Three central defenders Spurs should target this summer

Bengaluru, Aug 18: The 2019-20 season was quite a disappointing one for Tottenham Hotspur. The North London giants oversaw a great deal of progress over the last few years under Mauricio Pochettino pulling a strong foothold in the top four.

Bigger things were expected of them as they lost out to Liverpool in the Champions League final last season but a poor start to the season saw the Argentine get sacked and Jose Mourinho coming in as his replacement. The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss had a mixed first season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but will surely look to improve next season.

With Jan Vertonghen departing the club this summer, one of the necessary needs for the Lilywhites is a strong new centre-back. Toby Alderweireld might be in his thirties but he is still among the best defenders in the Premier League but Davinson Sanchez still looks far from a top-class centre back.

Eric Dier and Juan foyth are also far from the kind of defenders Jose Mourinho needs in order to bring success at the club. Here, we will take a look at three centre-backs Spurs should target this summer in order to get back into the top four next season.

Nico Elvedi - Borussia Mochengladbach

One of the best ball-playing defenders in Bundesliga and someone who likes to operate on the left-hand side of a two-man or three-man central defence, Swiss international defender Nico Elvedi would be an immense addition to the Spurs backline given that Toby Alderweireld is most comfortable as a right centre-back.

The 6 ft 2 in is not the most well-built defender but when it comes to building from the back, he is one of the very best in the business. Elvedi has averaged a passing accuracy of more than 90% for three seasons in a row and he is also defensively solid. Thanks to his pace, the former Zurich star has an excellent ability to recover. Just 23 years of age and still quite experienced at the highest level, Elvedi would be an excellent long-term addition to the Spurs defence.

Jonathan Tah -Bayer Leverkusen

Another defender from Bundesliga who has made a strong impression in the last few years, Tah looks more than ready for a move to a bigger club. He has been at Bayer Leverkusen since 2015 and despite being strongly linked with a host of clubs across Europe over the years, Tah is still at the BayArena and still has been quite impressive for the Bundesliga side.

Reports in recent months claimed that the German international has a release clause of £34 million and for that amount, he could prove to be a coup. Tall, strong and athletic as well as being very impressive on the ball, Tah is a pretty all-round defender and could further improve under a manager like Jose Mourinho.

Samuel Umtiti -Barcelona

It has been a dramatic fall from grace for Samuel Umtiti over the last couple of years. The 26-year-old Frenchman was regarded as one of the best defenders in the planet a couple of years back before his poor luck with injuries started troubling him as he now looks to be pretty much an outcast at Camp Nou.

Still just 26 years of age, Umtiti is said to be keen on reclaiming his status and for that, he must bid goodbye to Barcelona. The Frenchman would be a like for like replacement of Vertonghen with both being left-footed. also, Barcelona are in dire need to cash in on several players of their squad and therefore, the World Cup winner with France could be available at a cut-price which makes the deal look even exciting.