Geoffrey Kondgobia is the perfect Mousa Dembele replacement at Tottenham Hotspur, but he looks to be staying in La Liga with Valencia.
Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly been keeping a close eye on Geoffrey Kondogbia for years, but their failure to sign him when they had the chance looks more costly now than ever.
It has been clear for some time that Spurs want a powerful and influential midfielder to act as the long-term successor to Mousa Dembele, who has just one year left on his contract in North London. But, with just over a week remaining in the transfer window, it seems Tottenham are no closer to getting their man.
According to Sky Sports in December, Tottenham have been watching Kondogbia since 2015 and missed out on him when he swapped Monaco for Inter Milan for £30 million three years ago.
And it seems that, once again, the powerful Frenchman has slipped through their grasp.
After a difficult spell in Italy, the 25-year-old moved on loan to Valencia last summer and was a revelation at the Mestalla. As a result, Los Che did not wait around to sign him permanently, and the Mirror now reports that Valencia have told Spurs they will not sell Kondogbia for less than his £70 million release clause.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is under pressure to show some ambition after a frustratingly quiet summer in North London and Kondogbia is pretty much the perfect man to fill Dembele’s boots.
But Tottenham simply cannot afford to spend £70 million on one player. If only they had signed him in 2015. Or 2017 for that matter.
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