Premier League trio Everton, Spurs and Leicester City reportedly want to sign Angers’ Ligue 1 midfielder Baptiste Santamaria.
Tottenham Hotspur and Everton target Baptiste Santamaria will be allowed to move on from Angers this summer with the midfielder’s agent claiming that the Ligue 1 side have already agreed to let their star man go (Si Gonfia La Rete on Radio Marte, 28 April, 6.30pm).
Statistics do not always tell the full story but, when it comes to Santamaria, the numbers offer an explanation as to why he is turning heads all over Europe.
The 25-year-old Frenchman covers more ground per game than almost any other player in Ligue 1 while averaging 3.3 successful tackles across every 90 minute outing. No wonder, then, that some have labelled him ‘the new N’Golo Kante’.
A Leicester City side who brought a then-unknown Kante to the Premier League five years ago are unsurprisingly interested in Santamaria, according to The Express. The Foxes will face competition for Everton and Tottenham, however, for a former France U20 ace who would cost a bargain £13 million.
“In the next transfer market, we have the word of the (Angers) president that we will be allowed to leave,” says agent Yves Le Mee, who says Napoli want his in-demand client.
“I hope Santamaria can move to Italy because it is the most difficult championship in which he can grow the most. Baptiste, however, has a lot of interest (elsewhere), with the most important clubs in France setting their sights on him.”
Santamaria himself told Telefoot about a fortnight ago that his time at Angers had come to an end, admitting that he plans to test himself at one of the top clubs in European football.
Could he be the Idrissa Gana Gueye replacement Everton need? Or perhaps the sturdy ‘positional midfielder’ that Jose Mourinho’s Spurs are so clearly lacking?
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