Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to battle Chelsea and Manchester United in the race for Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij.
According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Tottenham Hotspur are among the club interested in signing Lazio’s star centre back Stefan de Vrij.
De Vrij, 24, came up through the ranks with Feyenoord, and become one of the most in-demand defenders in Europe during his time in Rotterdam, having particularly impressed for the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Stefan De Vrij celebrates with Ricardo Kishna
The centre back subsequently earned a move to Lazio that summer, and after 35 games in his first season with the Italian side, he missed the majority of last season having suffered a major knee injury.
Now back to full fitness, De Vrij has made 13 Serie A appearances this season, but with just 18 months left on his contract at the Stadio Olimpico, he’s become the subject of major interest around Europe.
Louis van Gaal and Stefan de Vrij
La Repubblica report that Tottenham Hotspur are keen on landing De Vrij, as are Chelsea, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan, with a fierce battle seemingly on the cards.
It’s stated that Lazio want to extend De Vrij’s contract, but they’re aware of the mounting interest in his signature, and it seems likely that he will end up leaving Lazio in the near future, most probably in the summer.
Tottenham’s interest in such a player, who is courting interest from some of Europe’s elite, is ambitious in itself, but De Vrij would cost a huge amount of money – Sport Mediaset claimed earlier this month that Lazio value De Vrij at €60million (£52million).
Even if Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was willing to spend that kind of money on one player, which seems unlikely, there may be better ways of spending the money than on another top defender.
Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are arguably the finest centre back partnership in the Premier League, and with neither of them looking likely to leave, manager Mauricio Pochettino won’t want to break up their partnership by adding De Vrij into the mix.
Another centre back may be needed for competition and depth in the near future, but it’s not such a pressing need that £52million needs to be spent – and whilst De Vrij is a top defender, Spurs may be better off looking elsewhere.
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