Tottenham Hotspur rival Man Utd in 'watching' acclaimed £43m AFCON winner

Tottenham Hotspur have joined Manchester United in 'watching' Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou as he goes from strength to strength under Xabi Alonso.

SportBILD report that the two Premier League clubs are the current leaders to land a deal this summer for the 23-year-old, who has just won the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast. The host nation beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final with Kossounou at the heart of the action. The defender is highly rated and is widely believed to have all the necessary qualities to flourish in the Premier League.

The outlet has published a double page spread on the Leverkusen squad today and lists the stars that have caught the attention of European clubs ahead of the summer window. It could be a season of transition for the Bundesliga league leaders, who have dazzled under Alonso this term - their manager is the frontrunner to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

Kossounou signed for the German side from Clubb Brugge in 2021. Bayer Leverkusen paid €23 million for his services at the time and the player had, to an extent, underwhelmed after the move.

However, he has been revitalised by Alonso and the club could demand a fee much higher than the €23 million this summer. A fee of 'at least €50m' has been touted. That's equivalent to approximately £43 million, a big lay off even for the Red Devils and Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur did recruit in the centre-back position in January, forking out for Radu Dragusin from Genoa but it is still early days in the Ange Postecoglou era. Meanwhile, TeamTALK has also named Kossounou as a Manchester United target and one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 'dream' acquisitions, alongside three others.

The outlet claims that the Red Devils could 'rip the heart out of' Leverkusen with moves for Exequiel Palacios, Jeremie Frimpong and Edmond Tapsoba, alongside Kossounou.