Spurs monitoring deal for £13.5m-rated centre-back whose contract is expiring

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By Harry Sherlock

Published Jan 23, 2021

They are looking at him

Tottenham Hotspur spent the majority of the summer chasing a new defender.

They spent the transfer window hunting a senior centre-back, with Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar emerging as a key target.

Steve Hitchen, a key member of the club’s recruitment team, was spotted negotiating a deal in Italy.

However, they couldn’t get the transfer over the line and Spurs were left to sign Joe Rodon from Swansea City.

Rodon has made an impact, making six appearances in all competitions, five in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup.

But it appears that the hunt for a new centre-back is not quite at an end yet.

Sport Witness carries a report from Napoli Online, quoting Sport Italia journalist Gianluigi Longari.

He claims that Tottenham could swoop for Nikola Maksimovic, the Napoli defender whose contract is expiring in the summer. He is currently valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt.

Napoli are still trying to give him a new deal but it appears that the centre-back could be moving on a free transfer come the summer.

Spurs are said to be ready to match the 29-year-old’s wage demands; he has made 13 appearances in all competitions this season.

Longari said: “About (Elsaid) HysajI have more hope, while I believe that Maksimovic will go away.

“On him, there are many teams ready to satisfy him even at an economic level, including Tottenham.

“Napoli has a great relationship with the agent of Hysaj, Mario Giuffredi, therefore they are very optimistic about the renewal of the Albanian-back.”