Tottenham have been handed a boost as it has emerged that one of their targets is ready for a move away this summer, and would be available for just £13m.
Tottenham on the hunt for reinforcements
It is no secret that Tottenham will be busy this summer, with Premier League results in recent weeks underlining the work still needing to be done on the Spurs squad to make it more in the image of manager Ange Postecoglou, who himself admitted as much.
“We need change. Change has to happen,” Postecoglou explained last week. “You can’t want to alter your course and quite dramatically for this club because we went down a certain direction. And now we’re pivoting to a whole different direction, expect the same people are going to be on that. It’s just not going to happen.
“We’ve had two windows and we’ve had some development of players, for sure, but when I say we’ve still got a long way to go, that’s what I’m talking about. We can’t be there yet because it’s impossible to say you’re going to have drastic change and yet expect everyone to be on that journey.
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“We’ve already made tough decisions, we let some experienced players leave. I’ve got to change this squad, I have to because I’ve got to build a squad I think can play our football. For that to happen, there has to be exits.”
It comes with the manager reportedly ready to part ways with plenty of fringe players this summer, including Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, while fullbacks, a centre back, a central midfielder and a forward are all on his radar ahead of the new season.
Now, they may well have been given a golden chance to land one of their targets for those positions.
Spurs the only club named in race for defender
That comes in the form of Union Saint-Gilloise defender Koki Machida, who Spurs were rumoured to be tracking in January, though they never made any serious move for him.
Fast forward six months though, and they may be able to snag him at a bargain price. This comes as Voetbal Krant [via Sport Witness] claim that the 26 year-old defender will be rewarded for his impressive performances in Belgium with a "prestigious transfer", naming only Tottenham as an interested party in the centre-back.
It is added that USG are aiming to rake in around 15m euros (£13m) for his signature should he depart, which would appear to be a bargain fee. Meanwhile, the player himself is unsure where he will play next season, admitting his future is open, which is said to delight Spurs.
Koki Machida vs Tottenham defenders 23/24 (Domestic League)
Koki Machida
Cristian Romero
Micky van de Ven
Appearances
23
31
25
Pass accuracy
79.9%
91.7%
94.5%
Fouls per 90
0.99
0.86
0.5
Tackles and interceptions per 90
3.42
3.41
2.67
Blocks per 90
1.35
1.55
0.92
“I know there are many articles about me in the newspapers. I’m not sure if I will still be at Union next season, I’m not sure. I’m mainly focusing on the end of the season with the opportunity to become champion," he explained.
A left-footed defender, Machida could help provide cover and competition for the impressive Micky van de Ven, who Postecoglou admitted this week had been asked to do a lot this season.
Signing the Japanese defender could help solve that problem without denting the Spurs budget too much, and allow Postecoglou to continue his Lilywhites overhaul.