Tottenham now 'best-placed' to complete £25.6m 'huge perfectionist' transfer

Tottenham are said to be well-placed to make a move on a defender who could well be on the move this summer. Spurs can now set about their summer transfer business after appointing Thomas Frank last week, with the Dane replacing Ange Postecoglou.

After a hugely disappointing season of last, Tottenham need to strengthen significantly, and they will want to add serious depth ahead of the new season. The Lilywhites are decimated by injuries last season, and going into the new campaign, they will have to contend with both Premier League and Champions League football.

Spurs arguably suffered most at the back last season amid a series of injuries, and it’s now being claimed a right-back is being eyed to add competition for Pedro Porro and Djed Spence, though a new signing in the position may put the latter at risk.

Sport are reporting that Barcelona have ducked out of the race for AS Monaco right-back Vanderson and that Tottenham are now ‘best-placed’ to make the signing. They say Liverpool are also interested, but that Monaco are confident Spurs will meet their £25.6million asking price this summer. Barca were unwilling to meet that asking price.

Vanderson is 23 years of age and he has been with Monaco since 2022 when he joined Gremio. Interestingly, he almost joined Brentford before making the move to Southern France, one revealing: “After Grêmio’s relegation to Serie B, I knew I was going to leave. The club and my parents spoke with Brentford. We had said yes, but Monaco came in with a more interesting and ambitious project for me, and also for Grêmio. So we opted for ASM, a club where young players can express themselves.”

Vanderson has since made 97 league appearances for Monaco, scoring seven times from full-back, though he is often deployed as a wing-back. He has also won seven Brazil senior caps so far.

Vanderson a ‘perfectionist’

Former Monaco boss Philippe Clement spoke about Vanderson’s talent and application back in 2022. He said: “Vanderson has been less consistent recently, but he is still a young player. He had an exceptional adaptation here [last season]. We have already spoken about that. He is also a player who is and continues to interest lots of big clubs. That can possibly do something to the mindset, not that he didn’t have his feet on the ground, but Vanderson is very ambitious and a huge perfectionist.

“Every day he wants to be better than the last. That can give him a lot of pressure, lots of stress with all of the ambition that he has. We need to manage that more for him. If I left him to it, he would train for 18 hours a day. He is like that. Sometimes we need physical and mental breaks and he is a young player that needs to manage that. He will do it, because he has such a positive frame of mind.”

Your next Tottenham read, Fixture release: Arsenal and Tottenham learn North London derby dates