Tottenham are keen to sign Jonathan Tah.
The 22-year-old is a German international and while he will feature at the World Cup this summer, the Champions League is the competition he is truly passionate about.
Tah was part of the Leverkusen team which won at Wembley last season as the German side beat Tottenham in the Champions League.
He helped Leverkusen reach the knockout rounds, and spoke about how much he enjoyed the competition.
Tottenham’s chances of persuade him to sign will likely be dependent on two simple factors; if they can qualify, and if Leverkusen do not.
Tah said 12 months ago: “We have reached the last 16 in the Champions League, and if somebody wants to call it [Bayer Leverkusen] a stepping stone, I can only say: You can’t ask for much more.
“It’s clear that I want to play in the Champions League.”
Unfortunately for Tah, his Leverkusen side were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid in the first knockout round.
They followed this up with a dismal 12th place finish in the Bundesliga. Tah certainly could have asked for more.
He stuck around, and this season Leverkusen have been improving, but they are still on course to miss out on the Champions League as they sit fifth.
It’s on a knife edge though, they are just one point outside the top four.
Tottenham are holding up their end of the bargain, in comfortable fourth place and on track to secure Champions League football for next season.
But if Leverkusen can seal a top four place again, their hopes of signing Tah could be dashed, as they will be reaching the level Tah aspires to.
Miss out, and Tottenham’s chances of persuading him to join will have taken a considerable boost, as he may not be prepared to sit out and watch Europe’s elite club competition take place without him for the second year in a row.
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