Tottenham have a long-term building block on defence in Davinson Sanchez, but the other two alternatives at centre-back, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, are both slightly past his prime. Therefore, Jose Mourinho wants to boost his defensive line during the upcoming January transfer window.
The biggest name out there for the Spurs is none other than West Ham centre-back Issa Diop, who has been one of the few bright spots for The Hammers this season. However, West Ham do not want to part ways with their star 22-year-old defender, and would be reluctant to strengthen a local rival with his signature.
The former Toulouse defender, who featured 38 times for West Ham last season, has been out of the starting XI over the last few weeks but remain one of the top players on Manuel Pellegrini’s defensive scheme. In fact, West Ham currently value the 22-year-old at more than £50m. It’s hard to imagine Tottenham paying that amount of money for Diop — or any player, for that matter.
However, Jose Mourinho might see the French defender as the ideal long-term replacement for both Vertonghen and Alderweireld. He also knows waiting six more months for Diop could increase his value considerably, especially if the centre-back keeps playing like he has done it so far this season.
West Ham signed the defender from Toulouse for £22million 18 months ago. Undoubtedly, they could now sell him for more than the double of that figure.