Tottenham Hotspur have made a bid for Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, per L’Equipe via Sport Witness.
What’s the word?
Soumare has been integral to the Ligue 1 club this season, making 25 appearances in all competitions, including six in the Champions League.
The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?
A defensive midfielder who has been capped at various France youth levels, Soumare is said to have been the subject of offers from a number of clubs, including Wolves, Newcastle United and Spurs.
Lille are said to be open to the idea of allowing the 20-year-old to leave the club, though he has previously aired his desire to stay; per the aforementioned report, he told L’Equipe: “I don’t see myself leaving.”
Lille, though, would want €50m (£42.4m) to move the midfielder on.
A prospect
Soumare is something of a statistical question mark.
Given that he is still such a young player, it is perhaps understandable but, across 18 games in Ligue 1, his numbers are not exactly spectacular.
Per WhoScored, he has won 1.1 tackles per game, made 0.9 interceptions, 0.8 fouls and 0.4 clearances.
He does complete 1.1 dribbles per 90 minutes, while he has a pass success rate of 90.2%.
This, then, would be something of a gamble from Spurs, who will surely be aware that Soumare has made just 34 starts in his entire first-team career.
With a £42.4m price tag attached, and Soumare seemingly unwilling to leave anyway, Spurs would perhaps be best off looking for a properly established defensive midfielder as opposed to a gamble.
Soumare is certainly the latter.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans are split over a possible move for a mega star.