Edmond Tapsoba to Spurs?

The central defender has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, with Postecoglou looking to strengthen his team’s defence this summer.

Tottenham has had a busy summer transfer window so far, and several signings have been completed since Head Coach Ange Postecoglou was appointed as Antonio Conte’s permanent successor in early June of 2023. So far, the club have completed the signings of James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario from Leicester City and Empoli, respectively. The club also secured permanent deals for last season’s loanees, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro.

Manor Solomon also joined on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk following a great loan spell at Fulham last season.

In recent weeks, Wolfsburg’s Dutch central defender Micky Van de Ven has also been heavily linked with a transfer to Spurs. The most recent reports suggest that an agreement is close between Spurs and the German club. This is according to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano.

It seems like Tottenham will not stop there in their quest to further upgrade their defence, with the club linked with a move for Edmond Tapsoba, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga. The rumoured price for the Burkina Faso international is in the region of £42.5 million.

In the 2022/23 season, the central defender made 47 appearances in all competitions for Die Werkself, helping them to a 6th-place finish in the Bundesliga with 50 points. After finishing third in the Champions League group stages, Leverkusen reached the Europa League semi-final, losing 1-0 on aggregate against Italian Serie A side AS Roma.

Their 6th place finish in the league saw them secure qualification for the Europa League in the 2023/24 season.

Tapsoba was a regular throughout the season, scoring two goals and providing one assist. He was also part of the Die Werkself defence that conceded 49 goals in the league, the 5th best record in the division. Only Freiburg, Union Berlin, Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg, RB Leipzig and Champions Bayern Munich conceded fewer goals.

Edmond Tapsoba is one of European football’s best central defenders, and he began his career in his native Burkina Faso with Salitas, joining them in 2014. He played there until 2015, when he joined US Ouagadougou, based in the same country. He remained at that club until he was signed by Portuguese club Leixões in 2017.

After a season without making a senior appearance for Heróis do Mar (Heroes of the Sea), Tapsoba joined fellow Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães in 2018, where the central defender began to play for the club’s ‘B’ team. In his first season with the ‘B’ team (2018/19), he made 30 appearances in the Ledman LigaPro (Portugal’s Second Tier), scoring seven goals and providing one assist.

Following his promising performances, Tapsoba became a regular for the Vitória de Guimarães First Team in the following season (2019/20), making 32 appearances in all competitions. The defender was part of the team that finished 7th in the Liga NOS (Portuguese top flight), accumulating 50 points. They finished bottom of their Europa League group.

Tapsoba’s good form over the previous couple of seasons persuaded Bayer Leverkusen to sign the central defender for a rumoured fee of €20.2 million (£17.2 million) in January 2020. He instantly became a regular in the starting line-up, making 31 Bundesliga appearances, scoring a goal. Leverkusen finished 6th with 52 points, securing Europa League football.

The 2021/22 season was the central defender’s first full campaign with Bayer Leverkusen, where they would finish in 3rd place with 64 points – this saw them qualify for the Champions League. Tapsoba made 29 appearances in all competitions, with 5 of these coming in the Europa League, where they were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by Italy’s Atalanta in the Quarter Final.

With the form that Edmond Tapsoba has shown over the last few seasons, it is no surprise that Spurs are interested in signing the Burkina Faso international to strengthen their defence. This would be a good signing for Tottenham, and he is a player who can still improve further.

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