Tottenham Hotspur want Edmond Tapsoba but Bayer Leverkusen have no plans to let him leave the club this summer.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Simon Rolfes has dented Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of signing defender Edmond Tapsoba this summer.
Rolfes has been speaking to German newspaper Bild and tackled the subject of Tapsoba’s future.
The Leverkusen sporting director has suggested that Leverkusen would not sell Tapsoba ‘under normal circumstances’.
Of course, every player has their price but it would seemingly take a staggering offer to tempt Leverkusen into selling.
Rolfes isn’t surprised by Tottenham’s interest in Tapsoba, praising his quality whilst labelling him a ‘very important player’ at Leverkusen.
Rolfes also highlighted a ‘long contract’ for Tapsoba and there is simply ‘no reason’ for Leverkusen to sell.
“No, not under normal circumstances,” said Rolfes when asked if Tapsoba could leave this summer. “With his quality, I would be surprised if there is no interest. There are always limits somewhere. But Eddy is a very important player, without a doubt one of the top players in our team.”
“Eddy still has a long contract and therefore there is no reason for us to think about it at all. That’s not an issue,” he added.
Fabrizio Romano on Edmond Tapsoba to Tottenham
Tottenham have been chasing Tapsoba for weeks now and only now have Leverkusen gone public with their intention to keep him.
Maybe this is a negotiation tactic to drive up the price, especially with Tottenham seemingly still in talks.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Monday that Tottenham are ‘actively working’ on a deal for Tapsoba, but the move isn’t easy.
Romano claims that Tapsoba remains ‘top of the list’ for Tottenham this summer as they seem to sign a new centre back.
The Burkinabe ace has been outstanding in the Bundesliga and Tottenham seemingly want him to partner Cristian Romero at the back.
Unless Spurs come up with a huge offer though, they may have to pivot to other targets.
Aston Villa may have caused Tottenham a problem
One important factor to highlight is the recent sale of Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa.
Villa have struck a deal worth just shy of £52million for Diaby, luring Leverkusen’s star man away from the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen won’t have received all of that cash in full, but such a huge deal certainly means they aren’t under pressure to sell another star like Tapsoba.
Tottenham may even have to pay a similar fee to tempt Leverkusen into a deal and it instead feels more likely that Spurs will move on to Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven if Rolfes stands as firm as he is suggesting.
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