Thomas could trump PSG as Spurs prepare £60.7m bid for ‘focused’ 22-year-old

Tottenham Hotspur are willing to bid higher than Paris Saint-Germain to strike a deal for a £60.7m-rated defender this summer, according to a report.

Tottenham Hotspur will supposedly have no qualms about paying Bournemouth’s ‘full asking price’ for defender Illia Zabarnyi amid links with Paris Saint-Germain.

Reports emerged earlier this month claiming that the Europa League winners were planning to hijack PSG’s move for Zabarnyi, who shone alongside Dean Huijsen in the Cherries’ backline last season.

Huijsen was eventually courted by Real Madrid and completed a £50m switch to the Bernabeu, and Andoni Iraola is now at serious risk of losing his other starting centre-back.

Bournemouth are under little pressure to sell immediately given that the Ukraine international’s contract does not expire until 2029, but either Spurs or PSG could stump up an offer that is too good to refuse.

While Les Parisiens would understandably be expected to trump Spurs financially, CaughtOffside instead suggests that the Lilywhites could present a higher offer than the European champions.

Tottenham ‘preparing £60.7m offer’ for PSG-linked Zabarnyi

PSG have supposedly failed with a series of bids of around £52m, whereas Tottenham are prepared to meet Bournemouth’s ‘full asking price’ of €70m (£60.7m) for the 22-year-old.

The Lilywhites are understood to have earmarked Zabarnyi as one of their leading contenders to replace Cristian Romero, who is believed to remain a serious target for Atletico Madrid in the current window.

However, the report adds that Zabarnyi remains fully focused on PSG and is not currently considering offers from other teams, thereby dealing Spurs a potentially crushing setback.

Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool are seemingly in the same boat as Tottenham, having also taken a keen interest in Zabarnyi, who has submitted a transfer request at Bournemouth which is currently under ‘internal review’.

The 2002-born centre-back has only missed three Premier League matches over the previous two seasons at Bournemouth and has scored one goal and provided one assist in 86 games for the club in total.

What is the latest with Romero’s Tottenham future?

Spurs will likely only make a serious move for Zabarnyi if it becomes clear that Romero is on the way out, but that is not the case right now and should not be the case anytime soon.

The Argentine’s contract situation is a slight worry, as he is now in the last two years of his agreement with no extension in sight, but Thomas Frank is confident that he sees his immediate future at Tottenham.

“Right now he’s here, that’s what I’m focusing on,” Frank said before Saturday’s 2-0 friendly victory over Reading, where Romero played 45 minutes.

“As long as players are here, I’m training them, I’m playing with them. He’s definitely here and very committed. I know he’s looking forward to the season.”

However, even if Romero leaves, Tottenham have Kota Takai and Luka Vuskovic coming through the ranks; the latter scored and assisted in Saturday’s success at the Madejski Stadium.

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