Tottenham 'make contact' over centre-back Xabi Alonso says is 'top notch'

Tottenham are said to be eyeing a big signing at centre-back, and without spending a penny in transfer fees. Spurs need to be looking to address a number of areas this summer after coming up sorely short this term.

Injuries have played a huge part in ruining Tottenham’s season, but it was perhaps an important lesson for the recruitment staff that serious depth may be required at any time, and especially for a team that wants to compete for a European spot while also competing in European competition.

One of the areas Tottenham have suffered most with injuries is in the back-line, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven having struggled with injury, while there was also a spell where Ben Davies was out at the same time, leaving only Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray available, and while the others have returned, Dragusin is not out for much of the calendar year with a serious knee issue.

Spurs know they need more depth there next season, and it seems they may already be working on addressing the issue. According to Fichajes, the North London club have been in contact over a deal for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah. The defender is out of contract this summer and already available to sign on a pre-contract.

Though, the trend over recent years is that while the representatives of players will have conversations, deals are still rarely agreed before the summer, with players determined to focus on the task at hand.

Tah is an experienced defender at 29 years of age, and he has been a crucial part of Bayer since arriving in 2015, making 283 league appearances in all. Naturally, he was part of the Leverkusen side that won the Bundesliga title, cup and supercup in 2024.

Tah has also been linked with a move to Barcelona ahead of the summer, and Leverkusen boss Alonso was asked about the links in the window. He said: "I'm not worried about that at the moment. We're happy that Jona is with us this season. His attitude is top notch, he has a big influence on our game. We need him until the very last day. Then we'll see what happens in the future. The summer is still too far away for me. It's no surprise, we spoke very honestly in the summer. He is a top-level leader and his level is getting better and better. Now we are happy that he is with us."

Meanwhile, Tah, who is yet to make up his mind, has been very complimentary of Alonso. He said previously: "I'm proud to be part of this team. After all these years, I'm really happy to finally be able to achieve something here. It feels extremely good. Xabi Alonso is an outstanding coach both tactically and personally. That's why we are so successful".

Given Tah’s along association with Leverkusen, it is not certain he will decide to leave the club, but if he does, he could have a choice of clubs, perhaps one being Tottenham, though they will have a tough job outgunning Barcelona if the La Liga title hopefuls do make an approach of their own.

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