Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing the same player.
According to Sport Bild, both North London clubs are chasing Bayern Munich veteran Jerome Boateng.
Spurs and Mikel Arteta’s side certainly need some defensive reinforcements in January and next summer, but not to the same degree.
And if Boateng has the option between Tottenham and Arsenal, he must choose the former.
Arteta has quite a few seasoned central defenders to choose from in his squad – David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi, Pablo Mari – but since Jan Vertonghen quit the Lilywhites, 31-year-old Toby Alderweireld is the only centre-back at Spurs who’s over the age of 27.
Japhet Tanganga is 21. Joe Rodon is 20. Eric Dier is 26 and Davinson Sanchez is 24.
Irrespective if Tottenham win the Premier League this season, Mourinho is going to need more experience in that role going forward and Boateng – who won the treble with Bayern last season to make it 22 major honours for club and country – has a hell of a lot of pedigree in that sense.
Remember, Spurs haven’t won any trophy in almost 13 years and you can’t undersell the importance of experience in regards to being a successful side.
In addition to Luiz, Mustafi and Mari, Arsenal also have William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Calum Chambers and Rob Holding.
Arteta is absolutely fine for centre-backs of all ages – the age range stretches from 19 to 33 – but Mourinho has some young guns who could and would learn a lot from a player like Boateng, both on and off the field.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
