Tottenham expected to make “official move” for “standout” £35m defender

Tottenham are planning to sign a new centre-back this summer, with Daniel Levy and Johan Lange casting their eyes on an exciting young target who Spurs tip to become a star.

The Lilywhites are reliably believed to be looking at bolstering the centre of their defence, as reported by The Telegraph, who also state that Thomas Frank’s side could weigh up another move for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.

Spurs saw a club-record £70 million bid rejected for Guehi in January, but despite this and competition from Premier League champions Liverpool, they haven’t thrown in the towel when it comes to potentially signing the England international.

Palace are also now open to selling Guehi for a minimum £45 million with his contract expiring in less than 12 months (GiveMeSport), so this is certainly one to watch, but the 25-year-old isn’t Tottenham’s only defensive target.

Contrary to other reports, some media sources state that Tottenham are frontrunners to sign Illia Zabarnyi from Bournemouth, despite PSG’s lengthy ongoing talks to sign the Ukranian.

Zabarnyi has already agreed personal terms with PSG, but Spurs apparently remain in the race for his signature after the 22-year-old’s exceptional campaign at the heart of Andoni Iraola’s defence.

Tottenham reportedly competed to sign Zabarnyi’s former centre-back partner Dean Huijsen as well, according to Fabrizio Romano, but it was always a tall order to barge aside Real Madrid, who’ve since added the Spaniard to Xabi Alonso’s ranks.

“Tottenham Hotspur were also constantly calling as well as Bayern Munich,” said Romano to GMS about the race for Huijsen earlier this year.

“But, the German giants understood they needed to sell a centre-back like Kim Min-jae in order to proceed with a new expensive signing, and it didn’t happen. For Spurs and Newcastle, it also became impossible to compete when Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal appeared with important proposals.”

Tottenham expected to make “official move” for Giovanni Leoni

Alongside Guehi, the north Londoners could turn to Parma defender Giovanni Leoni.

Levy and Lange have been linked with the 18-year-old already, but CaughtOffside now state that Tottenham are expected to make an “official move” for Leoni shortly.

Parma won’t entertain any offers below their asking price, though, which could be up to around £35 million, and Newcastle are fellow favourites to sign the Italian teenager who’s fresh off the back of a solid debut campaign for the Serie A side.

Leoni is highly-rated at N17, though, described as a “standout young defender” in the report, and those within Spurs view him as a ‘cornerstone of their future defensive setup’.

The former Sampdoria gem, who stands at a towering 6 foot 4, made 17 top-flight appearances for Parma across 24/25 – featuring at centre-back and playing as a right-back occasionally – and he’s tipped for a very bright career.

West Ham cast new doubt on Lucas Paqueta case with big verdict ‘imminent’

West Ham have cast fresh doubt over the Lucas Paqueta case after it was claimed the long-awaited verdict is now ‘imminent’.

• Hammers News exclusive

There is a strange mixture of relief, tension, excitement and trepidation in the air around West Ham today.

That’s after it was claimed the Lucas Paqueta verdict is finally going to be revealed, nearly two years on from the start of the saga.

When the investigation into yellow cards received by Paqueta was launched in August 2023, it brought West Ham United crashing down from a wave of positivity in the wake of winning their first major trophy for 43 years.

Paqueta was the man who provided the exquisite killer through-ball to set Jarrod Bowen clear in the final minutes as the Hammers beat Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague.

The assist was a thing of Brazilian beauty.

Paqueta came crashing down after golden West Ham assist

Paqueta had tried 100 or more of those passes in his time at West Ham leading up to that point.

Few had been successful, often to the frustration of percentages manager David Moyes.

But it was all worth it for that one golden moment as Paqueta nonchalantly rolled his studs over the ball in the centre circle before setting Bowen on his way to West Ham immortality.

News of the investigation into four bookings received by Paqueta, and allegations they were deliberate to influence betting markets, collapsed an £80m move to Man City that was well down the road.

A move that would also see Cole Palmer join West Ham for £30m in the other direction – as confirmed since by both Moyes and Hammers vice-chair Karren Brady.

Palmer ended up going to Chelsea and cementing his place as one of the best young players in world football.

Meanwhile Paqueta, with the black cloud of uncertainty hanging over his head, has never been the same since.

In truth neither have West Ham United.

Despite a strong first half of that next season, the wheels fell off and Moyes, Julen Lopetegui and now Graham Potter have struggled to keep the Hammers train on the tracks.

Just 15 wins from 57 Premier League games since December 29th 2023 tells its own story.

So did Paqueta’s tears when he was booked in the game against Spurs towards the end of last season.

West Ham’s new doubt on Paqueta case with verdict ‘imminent’

The FA’s spot-fixing case had resumed in the run up to that clash and it finally took its toll on Paqueta for all to see.

Paqueta’s wife Duda Fournier hit out at the FA over the trial when her husband broke down in tears that afternoon.

The Football Association are pushing for Paqueta to be banned for life if West Ham’s record £51m signing is found guilty.

This morning Hammers News reported on claims West Ham’s Paqueta verdict is imminent.

But a new response from the Hammers’ hierarchy has sparked fresh concerns over a resolution.

West Ham have cast new doubt on the Paqueta case with the verdict reportedly ‘imminent’.