Three Premier League clubs – Jose Mourinho’s Spurs, Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton and Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City – reportedly want Baptiste Santamaria.
Angers may be powerless to prevent Everton, Tottenham and Leicester City target Baptiste Santamaria from heading across the Channel this summer, manager Stephane Moulin has admitted to Ouest France.
A midfielder labelled the ‘new N’Golo Kante’ for his remarkable energy levels and his never-say-die attitude on the pitch, there are few in Europe who can match Santamaria when it comes to distance covered and successful tackles per game.
With Tottenham lacking the sort of ‘positional midfielder’ who Jose Mourinho deems a necessity, the £13 million Frenchman could be on his way to North London.
The Express reports that Everton are interested too with Santamaria potentially set to fill an Idrissa Gana-Gueye shaped void at Goodison Park, while adding some grit amid the guile of Andre Gomes and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Now that the Ligue 1 season is officially over, brought to a premature end this week, has the 25-year-old played his final game for Angers?
“It will be difficult to keep him,” said long-serving coach Moulin.
“There will be offers for Baptiste. He has already been targeted last year and after the season he has just had, I do not see how he would not (be wanted) this time. There will be requests.”
Santamaria, who has been tipped to follow in Kante’s footsteps at Leicester by the Express, admitted to Telefoot in April that he felt it was ‘time’ to leave a mid-table Ligue 1 outfit behind and prove himself at a higher level of the European game.
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