Tottenham identify Micky van de Ven replacement as 'remarkable' Serie A defender tracked with bid 'ready'

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank remains clinging onto his job in north London despite a rotten run of form in the Premier League and was given a massive boost as his side earnt a fine victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.

First-half goals from Cristian Romero and the recently returned from injury Dominic Solanke earnt a 2-0 victory against the Bundesliga giants and ensured that Frank remains in his job, which came under threat after fans called for his sacking following a 2-1 London derby defeat at home to West Ham United last weekend. Spurs sit in the top eight of the Champions League, though, and are going strong in Europe.

Interestingly, four of the Lilywhites’ seven home wins this season have come in the Champions League, a record Frank will hope to put right in the league over the coming weeks. He will hope that further January recruits can play a role in this.

Tottenham ‘bid ready’ for £34.7m Serie A defender

Tottenham have been faced with worrying rumours in recent days that Liverpool are targeting a move for star defender Micky van de Ven, with interest touted for next summer particularly if Spurs’ miserable domestic season continues.

Latest reports by GiveMeSport suggest that the Lilywhites are already preparing for a future without the Dutchman, amidst claims that they are ‘preparing an official move’ to sign Napoli defender Alessandro Buongiorno before the end of the January transfer window and are ‘ready’ to submit a bid.

The report relays claims from Calcio Mercato in Italy that the 26-year-old ‘has his bags ready’ and is set to say ‘farewell’ to the Serie A champions, just 18 months after signing from Torino for £34.7million. The 12-cap Italy international wants more regular minutes and Spurs may be prepared to launch an official swoop to take him from former manager Antonio Conte in Naples.

Buongiorno, previously described as ‘remarkable’ and ‘one of the best defenders in Italy’, is facing somewhat of a career crossroads if interest from Spurs firms into an official bid in the coming days.

Van de Ven replacement targeted amid ‘British transfer record’ claims

Though it would be a near-impossible task to replace Van de Ven in the Spurs back four, news that Frank’s side are targeting Buongiorno may come as proof that they see the need to strengthen in the centre of defence and might fear the worst.

Recent reports by Ben Jacobs state that the Lilywhites will demand a huge fee – possibly even a British transfer record – for the 24-year-old, though, which they will hope puts off Liverpool in the summer.

Speaking on GiveMeSport's Market Madness podcast, Jacobs said: "The player is on record as basically saying his whole family are Liverpool fans.

"I'm told at this stage that Tottenham Hotspur value Micky van de Ven as not just a record defender sale but as a British transfer record fee, even though this summer he'll only have two years left on his current deal. Nothing is going to happen now Micky van de Ven will wait, see where Tottenham are at in the summer and understand what kind of interest he has. Of course Tottenham want to try and get him to sign a contract extension.

"With Van de Ven this is more a summer saga than now, despite a lot of media reports, because Liverpool are going to be quite cautious and if Tottenham's valuation remains a British transfer record type number that will ward off the market. Micky van de Ven's future is one to watch for sure, but it's all going to depend on where that Tottenham project is come summer before the player makes a determination as to whether he wants to extend or potentially start exploring options."