Tottenham could face competition from Barcelona for the signing of highly-rated South American talent.
Tottenham Hotspur’s summer spending spree has not yet yielded the results the fans expected.
After saving the club from a humiliating relegation last term, Roberto De Zerbi was backed heavily in the summer transfer window. Despite the fact that the club’s hierarchy forked over £300million in the transfer window, Spurs find themselves rock bottom in the Premier League.
Tottenham’s misfiring attack has grabbed all the headlines in the media as of late. At the same time, the backline has let the Lilywhites down, and some of the defending we saw in the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend was comical. Spurs did well to bring in additional reinforcements to fortify the defence, with Tosin Adarabioyo joining from Chelsea on deadline day, on top of Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke.
Barcelona eye move for Tottenham-linked Athletico Paranaense defender
Ahead of the winter transfer window, the North Londoners have been reportedly keeping tabs on a highly-rated South American talent. They already held conversations with the Athletico Paranaense defender Arthur Dias and his representatives in the summer and continue monitoring his progress.
Arthur Dias has had an outstanding 12 months for Athletico Paranaense. The teenager’s form led to him being called up to the senior Brazil squad by Carlo Ancelotti for the recent international friendlies. However, Spurs, of course, aren’t the only club interested in the youngster.
According to a report from Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte, Barcelona’s head of scouting João Amaral was at the Arena da Baixada last weekend to watch Dias against Bahia. And the defender enjoyed a strong outing, helping Athletico Paranaense beat Bahia 2-1. Playing on the right of a back three, he registered some telling contributions and enjoyed a clean night.
So, João Amaral perhaps picked the right night to watch the Brazilian. Barcelona’s interest in the Athletico starlet means Tottenham have another club to worry about after meticulous work on Dias for several months.
The Lilywhites might need to act fast if they are to land the teenage prodigy in the coming months. He is one of the highly-rated Brazilian talents being heavily scouted by Barcelona, and it is believed that Athletico might have to cash in on their valuable asset while demand for his signature is high.
RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Como, Atlético Madrid and Benfica are all following Dias’ progress, which is why there will be no harm from Tottenham’s perspective in testing Athletico’s resolve for the player’s signature in January.