Tottenham Hotspur could make a bid to sign Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie "next week" if they sell Harry Kane, and it is believed he "would welcome" a move to England.
Who will Spurs sign?
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou has been backed with three major signings so far this summer, not including Tottenham's permanent deals for defender Pedro Porro and forward Dejan Kulusevski.
The north Londoners have reinforced their goalkeeping department with the signing of Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli for around £17.2 million, and he was followed closely by England international star James Maddison.
Winger Manor Solomon, after an impressive spell on loan at Fulham last campaign, then joined on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk – with the trio of new additions making their Spurs debuts in pre-season.
Attention now turns to star centre-backs, and it is believed they're eyeing two senior defensive signings for that area of the pitch, which doesn't include their potential deal for Blackburn Rovers starlet Ashley Phillips.
"That's definitely our intention, absolutely," said Postecoglou when asked about signing new defenders.
"We've been working on it for a while and we'll definitely try to get it done as quickly as possible.
"I don't think it's any secret about some of the areas we needed to strengthen. Some of it I identified early on. The goalkeeper was one and central defence is another.
"In terms of the other boys, we've got a big squad but my view is I wanted to bring them along and just work with them, get some clarity in my head and give clarity to them."
Elsewhere, as Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg edges closer to Atletico Madrid, Spurs may well look for a replacement if he does go. Star striker Kane's future is also shrouded with uncertainty, coming as Bayern Munich make a serious push for him.
Now, according to Spanish news outlet Sport, one midfield ace attracting Postecoglou's serious interest is Kessie of Barca.
Tottenham have apparently "warned" the La Liga champions that they could make an offer him just "next week" – if they receive funds from Kane's potential sale.
Kessie, who is a real candidate for the chopping block as Barca look to get rid of one player per position, is apparently considered an interesting player at Spurs.
The £199,000-per-week ace, for his part, "would welcome" a move to the Premier League as Tottenham eye a move.
How good is Franck Kessie?
His best season at the top level arguably came at AC Milan during the 2020/2021 season, where he racked up a brilliant 13 goals and four assists in 27 Serie A appearances (WhoScored).
These numbers indicate that Kessie is a serious threat from midfield when at his very best, with former Spurs keeper Paul Robinson once claiming he could be a good fit.
"Kessie would fit the bill," said Robinson to Football Insider.
"He is strong, quick and effective at both ends of the pitch. He ticks a lot of boxes.
“There is no doubting that he is an amazing player. The question is, would he come in and command a starting spot? Hojbjerg and Bentancur have done extremely well. [Yves] Bissouma has struggled to get a look in at times."