Tottenham join Man Utd and Liverpool in race to sign star Brentford club captain Nathan Collins with interest surging
The 24-year-old has been capped 30 times at international level and recently became Brentford captain
Tottenham Hotspur have emerged as one of the leading contenders to sign Brentford central defender Nathan Collins as Thomas Frank aims to use his connections at the Gtech Community Stadium to his advantage this summer.
Frank has added the likes of Kevin Danso, Mathys Tel and Mohamed Kudus to his squad on a permanent basis this summer as well as promising central defender Luka Vušković but is still thought to be in the market for further defensive reinforcements as he aims to assemble a team that can cope with the demands of Premier League and Champions League football.
Republic of Ireland international Collins played the full 90 minutes of his side’s 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest. It was the Bees’ first Premier League outing since Frank’s exit to North London and also Collins’ first match as club captain after being handed the armband by Keith Andrews over the summer.
Tottenham plot move for Nathan Collins
Mail Sport understands that Tottenham are huge admirers of Nathan Collins. Thomas Frank worked with the centre back at Brentford and has notably signed him once in his career already. In fact in the summer of 2023, Frank rated Collins so highly that he brought him in for a then club-record fee of around £23m to get the deal done.
“I’m very pleased that we’ve managed to sign Nathan,” said head coach Frank at the time. “He’s a very talented centre-back and still young.
“He has a lot of very good abilities that we value a lot. He’s a composed and calm defender. His heading in both boxes is a big thing, both in open play and from set-pieces, which is massive in the Premier League.
“I also like his ability on the ball. He can carry the ball out of defence and also has the composure to find the right pass during build-up play.His character is really good, and we know that character is everything. He will fit into our culture, I have no doubt about that. I see leadership potential in Nathan.
“He’s a perfect Brentford player - hungry and ambitious with a desire to learn.”
Collins played 77 times in two seasons for Frank across all competitions, including every minute of every league game last term. During that period he chipped in with four goals and six assists.
Is Nathan Collins likely to leave Brentford this summer?
Mail Sport believes Brentford are extremely reluctant to sell Nathan Collins this summer. They’ve already seen Mark Flekken, Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard depart this summer along with manager Thomas Frank while 19-goal forward Yoane Wissa is currently training alone as he pushes for an exit to Newcastle.
Collins is club captain and a crucial part of the club’s plans as they look to avoid the grim possibility of being in a relegation battle. However, interest is thought to be surging, and it’s widely reported that Manchester United and Liverpool are also interested in bringing Collins into their clubs.
United endured their worst ever league season, finishing in 15th position and are now needing reinforcements. Meanwhile, the Reds are in the market for more centre back options after selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, particularly amid the uncertainty surrounding Ibrahima Konate heading into the final year of his contract.