Report: Spurs set to rival Newcastle for £50million-rated Premier League defender

Tottenham Hotspur are prepared to go head to head with Newcastle United in a bid to sign Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen this summer, according to The Sun.

Andersen was linked with a move to Tottenham back in 2021 while he was still contracted to French club Lyon and had caught the eye during his loan spell with Fulham (Daily Mail).

Spurs did not follow through with their interest and it was Palace who decided to make the move for the 27-year-old during the subsequent summer window for a reported fee of €17.5m (£14.9m), plus €2.5m (£2.13m) in add-ons (Guardian).

Spurs are interested in Joachim Andersen

The report claims that it would take a sizeable bid for Palace to decide to sell the Danish international and are currently asking for around £50million for Anderson, who is under contract at Selhurst Park until the summer of 2026 (transfermarkt).

Brentford made contact with Palace to sound out a deal for the defender last month only for their £ 20million valuation having failed to whet the appetite of the Eagles.

Anderson has forged a solid partnership at the heart of the Palace defence alongside England international Marc Guehi, who is also said to be on Tottenham’s radar, who is likely to cost even more with London World reporting earlier this month that a £60million price tag has been slapped on his head.

Tottenham have been linked with a number of central defenders already during the summer window with Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven and Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen being the pair to have certainly gained the most headlines in recent weeks.

SpursWeb Opinion

It would seem unlikely that Tottenham would shell out £50million on Joachim Andersen when they could sign ven De Ven or Tapsoba for a lower fee.   Andersen has impressed during his time in the Premier League, especially with his ball distribution.

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Crystal Palace have made contact with Southampton over a potential summer move for striker Che Adams, which could amount to a fee of around £15m, according to a recent report from The Daily Mail

What’s the latest Crystal Palace transfer news?

Palace have their eyes on a new striker this summer, with Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun emerging as a target, however, journalist Ryan Taylor believes a move for the USMNT star may be difficult to orchestrate, as the Gunners could hold out for a big fee.

Not only that, the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, Marseille and AS Monaco are all “informed” about the 22-year-old, so the Eagles will have to fend off a lot of interest from some of Europe’s top clubs if they are to win the race for his signature.

Meanwhile, Flamengo youngster Mateus Franca is another attacking option for Roy Hodgson, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that a proposal has recently been submitted over a deal for the 19-year-old, who could cost as much as €25m (£21m).

Hodgson could also look at bringing in a new striker with a more proven pedigree in the Premier League, with The Daily Mail now reporting that Adams is a transfer target for Palace, following Southampton’s relegation from the top flight.

The Scottish forward is expected to leave the Saints this summer, with the Eagles now lodging an enquiry over a potential move, but they are set to face competition for his signature from Fulham, who have also made contact with his current employers.

If Southampton decide to sell the 27-year-old, they will be hoping to receive a fee of around £15m for him, with the player himself keen to remain in the Premier League, to give himself the best possible chance of making Scotland’s Euro 2024 squad.

How many goals has Che Adams scored?

The 2022-23 campaign was very poor for Southampton, and their striker struggled for large parts of the season, scoring a total of five goals in the Premier League, however, he did manage to find the back of the net five times in the EFL Cup.

That goal return in the cup took the former Birmingham City man to ten goals for the season across all competitions, a slight improvement on the eight he recorded in the 2021-22 campaign, and nine in the season before.

Lauded as “terrific” by Rangers legend Ally McCoist, the Scotland international has proven that he is able to find the back of the net in the Premier League, albeit not as regularly as he may have liked, having missed 11 big chances in the top flight last season.

In fact, over the past year the forward has averaged just 0.23 goals per 90, almost half the amount he was expected to score over that timeframe, based on his expected goals metric.

As such, it is evident that Adams, who shares the same agent as Marc Guehi, is not a very clinical finisher, and Palace may want to think twice about spending £15m on a striker who has only proven himself to be capable of scoring around 10 goals per-season in all competitions.