Tottenham are keeping close tabs on Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, sources have told Football Insider.
Spurs have been impressed with the impact the 21-year-old has made for the Saints despite their struggles and likely relegation in the 2022-23 campaign.
Tottenham is keen to invest in rising stars with the potential to improve and develop under an incoming manager.
Bazunu has now climbed the Lilywhites’ pecking order of goalkeeper candidates capable of replacing Hugo Lloris this summer.
Lloris, 36, is expected to depart the club this summer despite having a year remaining on his contract.
The club captain has had a wretched campaign and has reportedly now been offered a mega salary by a Saudi Arabian club as he weighs up his Tottenham future.
According to The Times (10 May), the World Cup winner could treble his £100,000-a-week wage by heading to the Middle East.
Lloris has been ruled out for the rest of this season after coming off injured at half-time in Tottenham’s 6-1 hammering away at Newcastle.
Fraser Forster, who joined on a free transfer after his Southampton contract expired last summer (2022), is again standing in for the Frenchman.
Bazunu, who joined the Saints for a reported initial fee of £ 12 million last summer, has made 37 appearances across all competitions this season – conceding 61 goals and keeping five clean sheets.
The 13-cap Republic of Ireland international has been replaced in the Southampton goal by Alex McCarthy in the last three fixtures.
He earned a spot as a Premier League number one after impressive loan spells away from Man City at Portsmouth and Rochdale.
Southampton could have their relegation to the Championship confirmed on Saturday (13 May).
Meanwhile, Spurs must beat Aston Villa to keep their slim hopes of Champions League qualification alive.
In other news, Tottenham opens sporting director talks – Levy wants deal done soon.
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Tottenham to complete superb first summer signing through a key clause that has spared Daniel Levy’s blushes
Tottenham will push through a high-profile first signing of the summer thanks to a handy clause and despite the uncertainty over who’ll be the next permanent manager, per reports.
Spurs’ search for their next manager will continue on after Julian Nagelsmann was ruled out of the race. Football London’s Alasdair Gold brought news Nagelsmann will no longer be pursued by Tottenham. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano subsequently echoed those claims.
But despite the managerial uncertainty that still pervades the club, a high-profile summer signing is poised to go through.
Tottenham signed Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski on an 18-month loan back in the winter window of 2022.
The initial loan deal cost €10m and contained an obligation to buy worth €35m should Spurs qualify for the Champions League in the 2022/23 campaign.
Tottenham can still finish inside the top four, though are six points adrift and have played one game more than both Newcastle and Man Utd.
Reports out of Italy recently speculated Kulusevski could return to Juventus when the loan concludes. However, per the PA news agency, the Sweden international remains on course to join Spurs outright.
Daniel Levy blushes spared
That’s because Spurs hedged their bets regarding UCL qualification, with Kulusevski’s loan deal containing a second clause – also worth €35m – that was a simple option to buy, not an obligation.
Kulusevski has struggled this term with just two goals and six assists provided in the Premier League. However, he’s not alone in underperforming in a Spurs shirt this term and his magnificent first six months at the club showed he’s more than capable.
As such, the PA reports Tottenham fully intends to take option two and activate the clause. €35m currently equates to around £30.7m.
According to Football London, the £30.7m fee is ‘payable over five financial years’. As such, Tottenham will not be on the hook for the full fee this summer and will be able to channel the bulk of their summer transfer budget into other deals.
When asked about Kulusevski’s situation during his latest press conference, interim boss, Ryan Mason said: “The general feeling is that Deki is a Tottenham player.
“Those conversations, like many other conversations about other players, will come at the end of the season.
“I love Deki as a player. I think he’s got so much room to grow and be a top, top player, even though he already is a top, top player.
“At the same time when you play for a club like this, I feel it’s important that you feel you have to earn the shirt in every moment.
“Naturally when you play for a club like this there’s competition. At the moment, last week, you could see he was on the bench but he came on and helped the team get the result. That’s important.”
