Tottenham are looking to sign a new centre-back this summer.
Spurs were caught short at centre-half far too often last season, and while Radu Dragusin did arrive in January, the departure of Eric Dier meant that Spurs still only have three recognised senior centre-halves in their squad.
Realistically, Tottenham need another defensive option, and according to The Sun, Spurs have their eye on a star from the Bundesliga.
Tottenham want Hiroki Ito
According to The Sun, Tottenham are looking at signing Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart.
This is an interesting link for a number of reasons.
Spurs thoroughly explored the Bundesliga market last summer when looking for a new centre-back as they considered Edmond Tapsoba before ultimately signing Micky Van de Ven.
On top of that, Ito is a Japan international, and that’s a market Ange Postecoglou knows like the back of his hand.
Indeed, Postecoglou spent a lot of time in Japan as a coach, and, as we saw at Celtic, he does like signing players from that part of the world as the likes of Reo Hatate, Daezen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi all became stars at Celtic Park under Ange Postecoglou.
Ito could be ideal for Tottenham
There are a number of attributes you need to play in an Ange Postecoglou defence, but pace is perhaps the most important.
Indeed, with Spurs playing such a high line, they need defenders who have incredible recovery pace such as Micky van de Ven.
Luckily, Ito ticks that box.
Ito clocked a top speed in the Bundesliga this season of 33.9 km/h, according to The Speeds Database, that would make Ito one of Spurs’ quicker players – even faster than the likes of Pedro Porro and Richarlison.
Ito could be just what the doctor ordered at Tottenham, and with a release clause of around £25m, it wouldn’t break the bank for Spurs to get this deal done either.
This could be a clever piece of business from Tottenham.