Tottenham are reportedly ready to come forward and sign an ‘underrated’ Napoli player this month, with Antonio Conte inadvertently opening the door.
Spurs eye January signings with Frank cursed by injuries
Spurs’ alarming injury situation worsened dramatically following Tuesday’s Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund, with Lucas Bergvall now facing up to three months sidelined after sustaining an ankle injury.
Manager Thomas Frank also confirmed in today’s pre-Burnley press conference that the 19-year-old could be out for a long period of time.
Bergvall was forced off after 63 minutes following a challenge with Emre Can, having been rushed back into the starting lineup despite carrying a knock from the Bournemouth match.
Initial rumoured assessments suggest three months is the worst-case scenario, with club medics continuing to evaluate Bergvall.
The timing proves catastrophic for both club and country. Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen reports Bergvall will definitely miss Sweden’s World Cup playoff semi-final against Ukraine on March 26, representing heartbreak for the teenager desperate to help his nation qualify.
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He could also miss 12-15 matches for Spurs across all competitions, including pivotal Premier League fixtures and potentially Champions League Round of 16 ties.
Bergvall joins James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and Ben Davies on Tottenham’s lengthy casualty list, while Joao Palhinha’s fitness remains uncertain after missing their last two fixtures with a knock.
Without Kudus, Spurs lack a natural right-winger after selling Brennan Johnson, with the Lilywhites targeting a new forward in this latter stage of the window.
Tonight, the north Londoners finally confirmed their capture of Brazilian left-back Souza from Santos, but it is clear they need more options throughout the squad.
They also have to consider potential exits, which could leave Frank even more short.
One of the players believed to be keen on leaving Tottenham, alongside Mathys Tel, is defender Radu Dragusin, and if the Romanian seals a return to Italy, then Spurs already have a replacement lined up.
Tottenham ready to move for Napoli defender Alessandro Buongiorno
That is according to Calciomercato, who report that Napoli’s Alessandro Buongiorno has fallen far down Conte’s pecking order at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium.
Buongiorno is therefore considering a winter departure and has ‘packed his bags’, nearly two years after his £35 million switch from Torino and being called ‘one of the most underrated players in Italy’ and ‘remarkable’ by pundits like Jacek Kulig.
Spurs have been repeatedly linked with the 26-year-old in recent years, dating all the way back to Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge, and it appears that admiration hasn’t gone away.
Calciomercato report that Tottenham are ready to ‘officially’ move for Buongiorno this month if Dragusin seals a departure, which has looked pretty likely for the whole of January, even if no agreement has been found yet.
Conte holds most of the cards here too, with the former Spurs boss set to make a decision on the centre-back’s long-term future.
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