Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano recently joined the panel on The Beautiful Game podcast and revealed that Tottenham Hotspur are looking to recruit a right-back this summer.
It’s recently been reported that AC Milan have shown an interest in Serge Aurier and if he were to leave during this window, Spurs would be in desperate need of a right-sided defender given there will be no recognised one in their first-team squad if Kyle Walker-Peters completes his proposed move to Southampton.
When discussing the north London club, Romano revealed that one of the possible options to fill the position is the Lille defender Zeki Celik. Here is what he told the panel regarding the Lilywhites’ summer plans:
“Tottenham are looking [in] the transfer market [for] some right-back[s] for next season, one possible option is Celik from Lille. He’s a good player, he’s a Turkish player and Jose Mourinho knows him. He could be an option for Tottenham if Aurier will leave.”
Celik joined Lille from the Turkish side Istanbulspor for a transfer fee of £2.25m back in the of summer 2018 (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk). Since arriving in France, the full-back has made 68 appearances for Lille contributing 1 goal and 8 assists.
Would you like to see Aurier replaced by Celik this summer?
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TIF Thoughts…
According to WhoScored.com, Celik’s average performance rating in Ligue 1 last season was a very respectable 6.73/10. One of the player’s strengths is said to be his ability to execute key passes and his current value is said to be £14.4m, which is exactly the same as that currently of Serge Aurier.
Celik is 23 years old, approximately four years younger than the Spurs defender, so if he is a player whom Mourinho knows and rates, selling Aurier to replace him with the Turkish international could prove to be a smart piece of business.