Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool 'target' rejects new contract deal in transfer boost

Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool target Lloyd Kelly has turned down a fresh contract offer at Bournemouth - as such, this would seemingly open the door for Spurs to potentially secure a transfer in the summer transfer window, according to Football Insider.

Kelly's current deal is due to expire on June 30 of this year. If he does not sign a new deal with Bournemouth before then, he will become a free agent - allowing any interested parties to snap up the 25-year-old on a free transfer. In 2021, Kelly was named as club captain of the Cherries - since then, however, this honour has been given to Neto instead.

Many feel that Kelly has been underutilised at Bournemouth this season. He has played just 12 games for the Cherries in the Premier League - instead, manager Andoni Iraola has shown a clear preference towards Marcos Senesi and Ilya Zabarnyi as his centre-back pairing. Kelly has played for England multiple times at youth level, but has yet to receive a senior cap for the Three Lions. Could a move to Spurs change this?

What would Lloyd Kelly bring to Tottenham?

A technically adept central defender, Kelly is the archetypal modern centre-back. Not only is he a capable, composed passer of the ball, he is also very physically capable - standing at 6ft 3, he has no problem dealing with even the most powerful of strikers in the Premier League. He has scored a single goal this season, which came in the FA Cup. Despite this, he has yet to rack up an assist.

Additionally, he is also a left-footed centre-half. Playing out from the back is a key facet of Ange Postecoglou's setup - with a left-footed centre-back in the back line, it will give Spurs a much greater range of how they can do this.