Tottenham have stepped up their pursuit of new centre-backs for boss Ange Postecoglou amid the ongoing uncertainty over Harry Kane’s future.
Kane remains of strong interest to Bayern Munich, who are expected to launch a third bid for the forward after officials from the German club reportedly met with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy in London on Monday.
While speculation surrounding Kane continues to grow, Tottenham have accelerated their search for new defenders with talks advancing over the transfer of Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven, the PA news agency understands.
Postecoglou gave the green light to Van de Ven’s signing soon after arriving in June and dialogue between the teams started last month.
No final agreement over a fee – expected to be in the region of £30million – has been reached, but there is a growing confidence the Netherlands Under-21 international will make the move before Spurs’ Premier League opener at Brentford on August 13.
After Van de Ven made 36 appearances for Wolfsburg in the 2022-23 campaign, and attracted interest from Liverpool, he made clear his desire to play in England during an interview with De Telegraaf in his homeland.
“I have always dreamed of the Premier League because the biggest clubs play there and I also see that competition as the best in the world,” Van de Ven said in June.
Tottenham also remain in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over the signature of centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, who alongside Van de Ven has been high on the club’s list of potential targets this summer.
A move for both Bundesliga-based defenders has not been ruled out but Spurs are working on other transfers.
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Blackburn centre-back Ash Phillips is expected to complete his move to Tottenham this weekend.
Spurs entered discussions with the Sky Bet Championship club last month for the England youth international, but negotiations stalled over a final transfer fee. After Friday a £2million release clause for Phillips will become active, which will allow Tottenham to complete the signing of the 18-year-old.
Phillips’ arrival will not impact on Postecoglou’s desire to boost his senior options in defence, with the centre-back viewed as a player for the future.
Tottenham have also opened talks with Rosario Central over 19-year-old forward Alejo Veliz.
Veliz impressed at the Under-20 World Cup this summer, scoring three goals for Argentina. Discussions are at an early stage but Spurs are eager to make a number of signings during a busy final month of the summer transfer window.
'I don't celebrate goals any more' - Postecoglou bemoans VAR after Arsenal defeat
Ange Postecoglou admitted "I don't celebrate goals any more" after VAR denied Tottenham during their north London derby defeat by Arsenal.
Spurs were beaten 3-2 by their rivals, who kept their Premier League title challenge on track, despite a late rally having trailed 3-0 at half-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own-goal, the hosts thought they had equalised when Micky van de Ven slotted past David Raya, However, the decision to award the goal was overturned following a VAR review with the defender adjudged to be offside.
Arsenal took advantage of their let-off with Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz increasing their lead, while second-half strikes from Cristiano Romero and Heung-Min Son proved academic for Tottenham.
"Games aren’t refereed in the stadium any more," Postecoglou told reporters during his post-match press conference. "I don’t celebrate goals any more.
"You've got to wait for somebody down the road. It’s a shame, I don’t like it, but I’ve got to accept it."
The Spurs boss was pleased with his side's response after the break, and hopes his players will benefit from the disappointment of losing the derby.
"It's a big day for our club and our fans, and we didn't get the outcome we wanted, so it's obviously very disappointing," he added on SpursTalk.
"You can go out in the second half and accept your fate that it's not your day, but we had to show some resilience and fight - just for our supporters more than anything else. To be fair to the lads, they did that.
"We just lacked some focus today in key moments, particularly in the first half. Sometimes, you've got to feel the pain of it to learn that lesson properly."
Arteta was 'praying' Arsenal held on for derby victory
Mikel Arteta was "praying" Arsenal clung on as the Gunners held off a late Tottenham fightback to claim a 3-2 north London derby victory on Sunday.
Arsenal looked to be cruising at 3-0 up after a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own-goal put the Gunners ahead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz extended the visitors' lead.
However, a David Raya mistake allowed Cristian Romero to cut the deficit before a Son Heung-min penalty threw Arsenal's lead into further peril after Declan Rice brought down Ben Davies.
The Gunners held on, though, despite some late pressure, a period in which Arteta conceded he was fearing the worst.
"I was praying," Arteta told reporters. "It was a really emotional game.
"3-0 up you're in control, and then an individual error happens that clicks something. We started to deal with the situation better, but they have the players to put a lot of courage forward."
Along with the derby day spoils, the win extends Arsenal's lead at the Premier League summit to four points, temporarily at least with closest rivals Manchester City taking on Nottingham Forest later on Sunday in the first of their two games in hand over the Gunners.
The destination of the title remains in the hands of Pep Guardiola's City, who overtook Arsenal last term to claim a fifth Premier League title in six seasons last term after the Gunners led for much of the way.
Arteta believes Arsenal are better-equipped this time to go on and win the title, however.
When asked if Arsenal have the ability to go all the way, Arteta replied: "100%.
"I’ve seen that the whole season. They give me reason to believe that every single day. The motivation for what is ahead is beautiful."
'We fought until the end' - Saka 'delighted' as Arsenal withstand late Spurs surge
Bukayo Saka saluted Arsenal's fighting spirit as they withstood a late Tottenham revival to claim all three points in the north London derby.
Mikel Arteta's side prevailed 3-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to extend their lead at the Premier League summit to four points over second-place Manchester City with three matches remaining, though the Citizens still have two games in hand.
The Gunners surged into a 3-0 lead before half-time with Saka and Kai Havertz on target after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own-goal broke the deadlock.
The winger's 15th goal of the season - his highest tally during a single term - saw him become the first English player to score home and away for Arsenal against Tottenham in the same Premier League campaign since Ian Wright in 1993-94.
However, the visitors given a late scare with Cristian Romero pouncing on David Raya's error to pull a goal back, before Heung-Min Son's 87th-minute penalty set up a grandstand finish.
Nevertheless, they held on for three points and, though the destiny of the title is out of their hands, their challenge remains very much alive.
"The last 20 minutes weren't nice, but it was worth it," Saka told Sky Sports.
"We know it's a big derby, and they don't want to lose 3-0 at home. Once they got one goal, the crowd were up and the momentum shifted their way. But I'm proud of the boys. We fought until the end, and got the three points.
"We showed our level heads at the end, and I'm proud to get the win. We know what it means to the fans and to us, so we're delighted.
"This is a massive win for us. We've got three [matches] to go, we're going to give it everything. City are an amazing team, but they're not perfect - nobody's perfect, they can drop points. We just need to do our job and see where it leads us."
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