Tottenham missed out on the signing of Ajax’s teenage prodigy Jorrel Hato to London rivals Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank still has problems in defence despite trying to address it in this summer transfer window.
The Dane has brought in young Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale to boost his defensive options for the upcoming campaign. Spurs were ravaged by injury problems last season, with the defensive unit being hit the most. First-choice centre-back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven spent months on the sidelines, while Radu Dragusin is still out following an ACL rupture at the end of January.
Unfortunately, Takai has been unable to participate in any pre-season games this summer after sustaining an ankle injury in a training session. Similarly, Destiny Udogie was not taken to the pre-season tour of Asia as he stayed back at Hotspur Way to recover from a knee injury sustained in a warm-up last month. In his absence, Thomas Frank has used Ben Davies and Djed Spence at left-back in games against Arsenal and Newcastle United.
This demonstrates Spurs’ lack of a back-up for Udogie, something they are apparently trying to address in this transfer window.
Tottenham made late enquiry to sign Jorrel Hato
Reports from this summer claimed Tottenham were interested in signing highly-rated Jorrel Hato from Ajax. The left-back made a big name for himself at Ajax after bursting onto the scene more than two years ago.
Chelsea beat competition from several clubs to sign Hato in a £37 million deal with Ajax last week. However, just before that happened, it is understood that Spurs made a late enquiry for the teenage sensation.
That is according to reputable journalist Ben Jacobs, who claims Tottenham put in a late enquiry to Ajax after Chelsea made a formal offer for the versatile defender, but nothing materialised.
“There is a possibility that another left back is looked at,” Ben Jacobs said on Last Word On Spurs podcast.
“For example, nothing came of it, but very soon after Chelsea came formally to the table for Jorrel Hato, Tottenham put in an enquiry to Ajax as well. It didn’t lead to anything, but it shows you that there’s a young profile of left back that Tottenham are prepared to consider.
“So, let’s see if they sort of stick with Ben Davies, knowing that he’s valued on and off the field, or actually, they try and bring in a sort of teenage profile of left back to compete with Destiny Udogie.
“But either way, I don’t think we’re done with the exploration of the left back position.”
Tottenham missed out on the signing of Ajax's teenage prodigy Jorrel Hato to London rivals Chelsea.
Tottenham made late enquiry for Jorrel Hato before he signed for Chelsea
Spurs must sign a new left-back
Udogie’s recurrent injury problems during his time at the club is a red flag, and given that the Lilywhites are set to compete in the Champions League after a three-year hiatus, it would be unwise to head into the new campaign with just one left-back. This is why Hato would have been a tremendous, long-term investment for Tottenham.
Having missed out on the Netherlands international, though, Daniel Levy and Co. must aggressively monitor the market for a new left-back alongside a No.10. As much as a creative midfielder, the left-back position should be prioritised, as Frank cannot rely on an injury-prone Udogie, an ageing Davies and Spence, who is a right-back by trade, to cover multiple competitions in the 2025/26 campaign.