West Bromwich Albion defender Ahmed Hegazi is on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar this summer.
It certainly appears to growing increasingly unlikely that West Brom will go into next season with Ahmed Hegazi still in their ranks, with ESPN reporting that Tottenham have joined West Ham and Leicester in the race to sign the Egyptian defender.
Hegazi has been a superb signing for the Baggies, proving to be a real stalwart and arguably emerging from this past season with a lot of credit despite the club’s relegation to the Championship.
Replacing him is going to be a big ask if he does move on. But if he heads to Spurs, perhaps Darren Moore should consider asking to take Cameron Carter-Vickers on loan for their first year in the second tier as the USA international would presumably be left well down the pecking order if Hegazi arrived.
The 20-year-old has played regularly in the Championship this past season, spending the first half of the campaign on loan with Sheffield United and then moving to Ipswich Town in January, making 17 league appearances for both clubs.
Both sides kept very respectable defensive records throughout the campaign. With the Blades, Carter-Vickers was part of a side that was encouraged to play an expansive style, while Mick McCarthy tended to try and make his side much more difficult to beat at Portman Road. That versatility could make him a particularly important player for West Brom if Moore decided to pursue a deal.
If Spurs sign Hegazi, or any other centre-back this summer, Mauricio Pochettino should perhaps have few qualms about letting Carter-Vickers head out on loan. And given the pressure and expectation that West Brom will have to deal with next year – especially given the momentum that they finished this past season with – a move to The Hawthorns may perhaps be the perfect next step in his development.
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