Scouts from Tottenham and Manchester United were sent to Italy on Sunday to watch Danish defensive prodigy Joachim Andersen in the Genoa derby, according to Calcio Mercato.
Representatives from all three clubs are thought to have made the journey to watch the 22-year-old feature in Sampdoria’s 1-1 draw with local rivals Genoa.
Andersen is believed to be of particular interest to Spurs and Manchester United, with the latter suffering from well-publicised defensive frailties and the former looking for a replacement for Toby Alderweireld should the Belgian fail to agree a new contract before the summer transfer window.
The young Dane joined Sampdoria from FC Twente in a £1.25 million deal last year, but is reportedly valued at closer to £25million by his club now following a string of impressive performances this season.
Opinion
Defensive reinforcements have not been high on Tottenham’s priority list in recent times. The partnership of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld has been as dependable and revered as any in the Premier League over the past few years. It is looking increasingly likely, however, that Alderweireld will no longer be a Spurs player this time next year, with his seemingly never-ending contract saga continuing to rumble on with no obvious resolution in sight. If that is the case then it would typically prudent of Mauricio Pochettino to invest in youth and potential. The signing of Davinson Sanchez has hardly been an unmitigated success thus far, but the Colombian has shown enough quality to suggest that he will come to justify his manager’s decision to bring him in from Ajax, and it is unlikely that Pochettino will change his stance and spend big on a fully established world class talent any time soon, especially with the cost of Spurs’ new stadium to consider. To this end, Andersen could prove to be the ideal man, if not for now, then certainly for the future.