Spurs move on from Berahino with Bayer Leverkusen bid
Published:
Spurs are preparing to walk away from their long speculated interest in West Brom’s Saido Berahino and have opened talks with Bayer Leverkusen over their South Korean forward Son Heung-min.
The Baggies insistence that the north Londoners must pay at least £25m in order to take their England U21 international to White Hart Lane has been met with indifference by Spurs, despite reports suggesting they’d only have to up their offer by £3m to match the demands.
Instead, Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino have changed tack and initiated a dialogue with the Bundesliga club over 23-year-old Son.
How much Spurs are willing to offer Leverkusen for the forward varies by the publication, with the figure ranging from £18m to £22m.
Sky Sports believe the 44-cap international is in London to complete a medical, which could explain why Leverkusen did not include the player in their squad to face Lazio in the Champions League play-off round second leg on Wednesday.
Although the profiles and prices of Berahino and Son are quite similar, they perform quite different duties on the pitch.
Son is capable of playing through the middle as a main striker, but tends to operate in the wide berths, predominantly the left, more often for his German club.
Spurs are in dire need of central striking reinforcements and could be allowing desperation to drive their transfer business as the clock on the transfer window winds down.
Clinton N’Jie has arrived from Lyon to deputise for Harry Kane, but the livewire is an extremely raw talent, which dictates the need for Pochettino to bring in another operator to his reserves.
After a stuttering start to their league campaign, the Lilywhites have two points from their opening three games and host Everton in their next assignment.
Ladbrokes make them slim 9/10 favourites to claim a victory, with the Toffees available at 3/1.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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