Highlights
- Tottenham Hotspur are targeting Kalvin Phillips to address their midfield issues in January.
- Phillips has been told he can leave Manchester City and is being pursued by other clubs including Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Juventus.
- Bringing Phillips to Tottenham could be a smart move to strengthen the midfield amid their injury crisis.
Tottenham Hotspur are now looking toward the January window and have reportedly identified a player who could help to solve a major problem in N17.
Tottenham Hotspur’s injury struggles…
Since arriving from Scottish Premiership champions Celtic in the summer, Ange Postecoglou has gone on to have a major impact in the Premier League and has repeatedly shown his unwavering commitment to playing a brand of high-intensity attacking football.
As most fans and pundits alike will now know, the Australian boss has absolutely no desire to change his system any time soon; however, the Lilywhites’ relentless commitment to forcing the issue has begun to take its toll on his squad regarding injury concerns.
As cited by The Evening Standard, Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur are absent for the Lilywhites at the moment, with the latter set for a lengthy period on the sidelines. Cristian Romero has been suspended of late and has been a big miss in central defence for Spurs following his red card against Chelsea last month.
Micky van de Ven, Ryan Sessengon, James Maddison, Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon are mentioned by LondonWorld as other notable players who are currently on the treatment table at Hotspur Way, which will likely ramp up expectations for Postecoglou to move in January to secure additional squad reinforcements.
According to Football Insider, Tottenham will try to recruit another midfielder in the mid-season window following news of Bentacur’s recent injury after internal talks were held at the club over their winter transfer plans.
Yves Bissouma and Matar Sarr are also expected to depart in January to feature in the African Cup of Nations for their respective nations, which has prompted Spurs to act as their options in the engine room dwindle by the week.
Fresh information has now come to light about who could potentially join Tottenham in January to help offer some cover in the middle of the park, according to one recent claim.
Tottenham Hotspur in race to sign Kalvin Phillips
Tottenham are believed to be keen on Manchester City outcast Kalvin Phillips, who has been told that he is free to leave the Etihad Stadium in January to seek a new challenge, as per Football Insider.
Kalvin Phillips’ underwhelming spell at Manchester City (Transfermarkt) | |
Appearances | 29 |
Goals | 0 |
Assists | 0 |
Nevertheless, Spurs will need to see off competition from several other clubs to sign the England international. Newcastle United, West Ham United and Serie A giants Juventus are all keeping tabs on the former Leeds United man heading into the January window.
Predominantly used as a substitute by his current employers, Phillips will be keen to secure a move sooner rather than later to ensure his inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad for EURO 2024.
Nevertheless, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano did share quotes last month from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, detailing that the Catalan manager labelled the 27-year-old as “exceptional” while also signalling that he is set for a January departure, as he stated the following on social media platform X.
Given Tottenham’s injury crisis, bringing Phillips to north London could prove to be a shrewd bit of business from Postecoglou that would help to shore up his midfield ahead of the second portion of this campaign.
