Sky Sports are reporting that Tottenham Hotspur is ready to sell Mousa Dembele, Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld this summer.
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The trio looked to be ready to leave Spurs since January, with Dembele and Alderweireld not getting any closer to signing new contracts with Mauricio Pochettino’s side. As for Rose, his commitment to Tottenham has long been questioned and after he gave an explosive interview at the start of last season criticizing the club and its contract policy, his time seemed to be running out in north London.
It is believed that Tottenham will now listen to offers for all three players as they’re due to return to preseason training in the coming days following their run to the World Cup semifinal stage with Belgium and England.
Where could the trio be heading to?
Alderweireld and Rose have long been linked with a move to Manchester United, with the former seeming like a perfect fit for Jose Mourinho’s need for a center back as the pursuit of Leicester and England star Harry Maguire seems to have run its course with the Foxes wanting over $100 million for the defender.
With Alderweireld’s contract having a release clause in it from next season, Spurs are in a tough situation and will have to try and sell the Belgian star now or risk losing plenty of cash on the deal next summer. Dembele has been linked with a move to Inter Milan with the silky midfielder somewhat falling out of favor at Tottenham last season despite showing flashes of brilliance on the ball over the past five seasons at Spurs.
It is believed Spurs will look to the likes of Lewis Cook at Bournemouth to replace Dembele, with Pochettino’s penchant for developing young talent perfect for these kind of situations as he looks to move on veteran stars.
If you believe the reports then quite a few options are opening up for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United in their hunt for a new center back.
Aside from Maguire and Alderweireld, the Daily Mirror claim that United have made a move to sign Barcelona and Colombia center back Yerry Mina with his transfer fee said to be around $41 million.
The 23-year-old shone for Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, scoring twice with powerful headers as he first got them out of the group stage and then took their Round of 16 clash against England to extra time.
With Mina set to be behind both Barca legend Gerard Pique and World Cup winner Samuel Umtiti in the center back pecking order at the Nou Camp, it is easy to see why he’d find a move to United an attractive proposition.
Mina played in just four La Liga games for the reigning Spanish champions last season but his performances at the World Cup showcased not only his aerial ability at both ends of the pitch but also his ability to read the game as he shut Harry Kane down for the majority of their penalty shootout defeat to England.
With Mourinho said to be happy with only Eric Bailly among his center back options, the likes of Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof will likely see themselves fall behind Mina if he arrives at Old Trafford.
