Spurs battle European giants in race to sign defender

Tottenham Hotspur face another tough test when they travel to face Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. 

The Lilywhites were beaten 2-0 by fierce rivals Chelsea in midweek, dealing a huge blow to their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Spurs now sit seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, although they do have a game-in-hand over the Villans.

Off the pitch, Tottenham are preparing to battle it out against two European giants in the race to sign a Serie A defender.

According to Football Insider, Tottenham face competition from Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus in the race to sign Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori.

The 21-year-old joined Bologna from Swiss side Basel last summer and has enjoyed a fine debut season in Italy, making 31 appearances across all competitions.

Calafiori has been in fine form for Bologna this season

The report claims that those in charge of Tottenham’s recruitment have identified the youngster as a potential target as they look to bolster Ange Postecoglou’s defensive options ahead of next season.

The North London club could lose Eric Dier – who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich – permanently this summer and may therefore need to sign a replacement.

It is also claimed that the club’s former director of football, Fabio Paratici, continues to be involved in advising about the club’s transfer strategy behind the scenes and could therefore help in the move for Calafiori.

Tottenham did sign centre-back Radu Dragusin from Italian side Genoa in January, and the defender has since provided cover for first choice pairing Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero during the second half of the season.

Calafiori is currently contracted to Bologna until the end of the 2026/27 season, meaning that his current side are under very little pressure to sell.