Tottenham are reportedly close to securing their first signings of the January transfer window in a double deal that will provide manager Antonio Conte with a major boost.
The Spurs manager is hoping for another solid January window after seeing two arrivals this time last year reinvigorate his side. Indeed, the captures of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski played no small part in helping Spurs finish fourth ahead of Arsenal.
In turn, qualification for the Champions League helped secure Tottenham the funds needed for a major summer spending spree. And with Conte lavishing around £150m on seven new additions, Conte has now put his mark on the squad.
Despite the high volume of stars coming into Tottenham, Conte’s squad still has a number of shortcomings. And with the winter window open for business, Conte has made clear his wish to sign a new right-back, a new midfielder and a new attacker too.
Perhaps the most pressing upgrade will come at right-back. Neither Matt Doherty or Emerson Royal have caught the eye when afforded opportunities. And while Irishman Doherty looks the stronger of the pair, Brazilian Royal looks likely to be shipped away for a significant loss.
Conte seemingly has two targets in mind to come in for Spurs with Denzel Dumfries and Pedro Porro in his sights.
Any deal for Dumfries looks complicated, however. His side, Inter Milan, will not part with his services easily. Furthermore, latest reports claim he will cost an eye-watering fee of around £53m (€60m).
However, a deal for Porro looks easier to strike given the wing-back has an exit clause in his deal.
That is set at £39.7m (€45m), with his side, Sporting Libson, seemingly unwilling to negotiate for any less.
Spurs close on Porro and Marcus Edwards signings
However, it seems Porro isn’t the only Sporting star on Tottenham’s radar this summer. And according to reports in Portugal, Daniel Levy is also close to an agreement for his teammate Marcus Edwards too.
Per Correio da Manha, the Spurs chairman is now just £5m away from reaching a double agreement for both players.
Edwards, the former Tottenham player, also has an exit clause in his deal worth £52.9m (€60m). However, thanks to an agreement in the terms of his transfer, Spurs are entitled to 50% of any future transfer. And a return to Tottenham – with Conte seemingly keen – would only set Spurs back £26.45m.
And with reports last week claiming talks were being held over the pair, it seems an agreement is on the brink of being finalised.
The publication adds that Spurs would need to pay a combined £66.1m (€75m) to land both stars. But as it stands, Levy has reportedly put forward a combined bid of £61.7m (€70m) for both stars.
That leaves the Tottenham supremo just £4.4m shy of securing the deal, with the article claiming the pair are ‘not far away’ from sealing transfers.
Sporting, knowing they lose a vast chunk of Edwards’ fee, are keen to stand their ground. As such, Levy may have to bite the bullet and pay the going rate if he’s to sign the pair.
Either way, the capture of both will significantly strengthen the Spurs squad for the second half of the season.
Injuries in the attacking department have left Conte having to play Bryan Gil of late. However, the capture of Edwards could well free up Gil to make a loan return to LaLiga once again.
