Tottenham considering a move for either Middlesbrough’s Ben Gibson or Chris Smalling of Manchester United.
Manchester United’s Chris Smalling scores their first goal
Tottenham Hotspur are keen on bringing in at least one new centre-back over the summer to act as either support or competition to Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.
According to the Daily Mail that is likely to be either Ben Gibson of Middlesbrough or Manchester United’s Chris Smalling, with another target in Harry Maguire having agreed a £17m deal to join Leicester City.
So if Spurs are keen on signing one of Gibson or Smalling, which defender would be the best fit?
Middlesbrough’s Ben Gibson applauds fans after the game
Ben Gibson
May have been part of a Boro team that finished second bottom of the Premier League and were relegated in 2016/17, but Gibson also helped the North East team to the tenth best defensive record in the division.
That is no mean feat in a side that won just five league matches and at 24-years-old he has plenty of time to further improve and while some may point to limited top flight experience, that hardly held Dele Alli back, for example.
Manchester United’s Chris Smalling in action with Stoke City’s Xherdan Shaqiri
Chris Smalling
The Red Devils man certainly has the more impressive CV, with three league titles, one FA Cup, one EFL Cup and one Europa League to his name.
However, the downside is Smalling is also three years Gibson’s senior and has now been deemed not good enough by a United side who finished four places below Tottenham in sixth.
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