On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Tottenham receive surprise boost in their pursuit of Bologna defender Jhon Lucumi
Tottenham have already turned the loan deals for Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso into permanent acquisitions, and they are now closing in on the signing of highly-rated Japanese defender Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale.
Spurs faced enormous problems at the back this past season. From an injury crisis to hugely inconsistent performances, former boss Ange Postecoglou had to face it all. Barring Pedro Porro, every single defender faced a period on the sidelines—a prime reason why the North Londoners were so porous defensively and managed clean sheet in single digit over the course of the Premier League season.
While Postecoglou has been sacked and replaced by Thomas Frank, the club chiefs have made it a priority to bolster the Dane’s defensive department. Their decision has been accentuated by Cristian Romero’s uncertain future. Now, Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso also wants to sign Romero this summer, and if he departs, Spurs would certainly need to replace him in the roster.
As a result, the Lilywhites have earmarked Bologna’s Jhon Lucumi as a potential replacement for Romero. The Colombian international was hugely impressive for Bologna last season, as they ended a 51-year trophy drought by defeating AC Milan 1-0 in the Coppa Italia final. He made 44 appearances in all competitions, netting a goal.
Now, it looks like Spurs have been given a boost in their chase of Jhon Lucumi. According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Bologna are trying to sign Daniele Ghilardi from Hellas Verona following his impressive performances at the Under-21 European Championships. For the Serie A side to sign Ghilardi, they will have to offload at least one defender and Lucumi appears likely.
Tottenham are not the only Premier League keen on the 26-year-old’s services. The likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton and Aston Villa all have been monitoring his situation, while interest is also potentially anticipated from the Manchester clubs. The left-footed central defender has a release clause worth €28m that is valid until July 10th, which his suitors must be wary of.
The Rossoblu have been a selling club in Serie A, a model which has worked efficiently in the last few years and allowed them to continue evolving. With Lucumi’s contract expiring in 2026, they perhaps feel this is their best chance of getting a decent fee.
In Ashley Phillips and Luka Vuskovic, Spurs have two extremely talented young centre-backs returning from strong loan spells at Stoke City and KVC Westerlo, respectively. Add the potential acquisition of Takai and they’d have a strong core of young defensive prospects. However, they are all inexperienced at the highest level, and with Micky van de Ven injury prone and Radu Dragusin having started his rehab from an ACL rupture, Frank cannot rely on the current crop of centre-backs.
This makes the addition of Lucumi an absolute necessity, but with several clubs vying for his signature, we must hurry up and pay his paltry €28m release clause.
More must-reads:
- No Messi, no problem: MLS thumps Liga MX in All-Star Game
- No end in sight in Jonathan Kuminga-Warriors 'staring contest'
- The 'Multiple 100-RBI MLB seasons' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
Chelsea Agree Deal for Much Sought After Winger as Medical Set for Friday
Chelsea appear to be moving in the right direction following an initial period of instability after the BlueCo takeover. Enzo Maresca‘s side have Champions League football to look forward to and are fresh from recently winning the Club World Cup. The West London club have been active in this summer’s transfer window, and Fabrizio Romano is now reporting they have agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old winger Jesse Derry from Crystal Palace. Chelsea Make Transfer Move Amid Summer Strengthening Chelsea Agree Deal to Sign Jesse Derry The Blues ended last season on a high, qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Europa Conference League, before winning the Club World Cup. So far this summer, Chelsea have signed Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Estevao, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez. Despite already being active this summer, Chelsea appear far from done and have been linked with Dutch attacker Xavi Simons and Jorel Hato. The deal to sign Derry from Crystal Palace will add another highly rated talent to their books. Romano reports that 8 European clubs were interested in the England under-19 international. The medical will take place this Friday, with Chelsea stealing a march on their transfer rivals. Who is Jesse Derry? Jesse Derry has excelled at every age group and has all the ability needed to reach the very top. Derry operates on either wing and can cut in or go down the outside, making him a nightmare to mark. He is a joy to watch; he’s at his best when one-on-one with an opponent, and normally, the 18-year-old comes out on top. It’s difficult to judge how far the 18-year-old will go, but he was heavily linked with Bayern Munich, which is a testament to just how good Derry is. When you watch him play, there’s a touch of Jack Grealish about him. Could Chelsea be signing the next English superstar, or will he join the many who just weren’t quite good enough?
Carter Hart, others found not guilty in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial
Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Callan Foote, Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton have been found not guilty by Justice Maria Carroccia in London, Ontario, according to reporting from The Athletic, after being charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault involving the 2018 Canadian men’s national junior team. Carroccia said that she did not find E.M.’s [the alleged victim] evidence “credible or reliable,” in explaining her reasoning. “Having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me,” Carroccia said. The allegations against Dube, Foote, Formenton, Hart and McLeod first became public in May of 2022, when reports emerged that Hockey Canada had paid to settle a lawsuit with a woman, known in court documents as E.M., who said she was sexually assaulted by eight players “over several hours” in a London hotel room on July 18, 2018. No charges were levied as a result of the initial investigation by local police, which was closed in February 2019, but the case was reopened after the 2022 report. Formal charges were then brought against the five defendants on Jan. 30, 2024. The trial began on April 22, 2025, and the verdicts were reached solely by Justice Carroccia after two mistrials influenced her to dismiss the jury. The NHL does not have a formal policy for players accused of or charged with domestic violence, sexual assault or similar crimes. Instead, the four players who were under NHL contracts at the time – Dube, Foote, Hart and McLeod – were granted indefinite leaves of absence by their clubs shortly before the charges were announced. All of them were pending restricted free agents on expiring contracts and were not extended qualifying offers, making them unrestricted free agents as of July 1, 2024. When asked about the playing eligibility of the defendants, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has continually deferred action until after a verdict was reached. While none of the players are formally suspended by the league, similar situations have routinely required some sort of permission from league offices for them to play in or return to the NHL. If teams approach any of them with a contract offer, they will presumably wait for that guidance before registering the deal.
Canucks Reportedly Interested in Former Third-Overall Pick as Another Young Player Could Leave the Team
The Canucks are reportedly quite interested in Ducks' Mason McTavish, this news coming after one of their young NCAA players, Jackson Kunz, could leave the team. With $3.25 million of free cap space now available after Dakota Joshua was sent to Toronto, the Vancouver Canucks and GM Patrik Allvin have room to add a significant piece, and it seems that they may be after a former third overall choice. Vancouver is interested in Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish, a restricted free agent, reports The Province's Patrick Johnston. 'Hence their continued interest in Roslovic, as well as their interest in Mason McTavish, the Anaheim Ducks' restricted free agent. Of course adding McTavish, the third-overall pick in the 2021 draft, will be very hard: he's a highly-regarded player with huge upside and will cost a big price in trade, perhaps more than the Canucks can afford.' Johnston said. It won't be an easy feat to get him due to asset limitations and Anaheim's stance on his next deal, but the 22-year-old would be a perfect fit as the Canucks' second-line center. After playing his inaugural 20-goal NHL campaign, McTavish offers skill and grit, two qualities that the Canucks may covet during a playoff push. While a few large-name players are available on the free market, Vancouver is considering trades as well as free agent solutions in the latter half of the offseason. Making a bold move for a player like McTavish wouldn't be out of character with the needs of the team. The Canucks need to sign their important NCAA prospect by August 15th Meanwhile, the Canucks are also under pressure in another direction. The deadline on August 15th is coming up to sign NCAA prospects graduating after four years. If they don't sign them, they'll become unrestricted free agents. The key concern is forward Jackson Kunz. If he isn't signed by August 15, 2025, he'll land on the open market. In the midst of a potential blockbuster trade and looming NCAA deadlines, the next several weeks can be make-or-break for Vancouver.
Kevin O'Connell reveals potential secret weapon for the Vikings in 2025 that can take the offense to new heights
The focus for the Minnesota Vikings this season will be first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. It's all going to be about how good he's playing. One of the biggest elements about helping him perform is going to be how the players around him perform, along with how head coach Kevin O'Connell utilizes them. We know that wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are going to be major factors, but the running game will be a major impact on getting the Vikings to the next level. Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones could be key to Vikings' success What's going to be really interesting is how head coach Kevin O'Connell modifies the offense to cater to what McCarthy does best. One of the easiest things you can do to maximize a young quarterback is to have a really good running game. The Vikings added Jordan Mason and extended Aaron Jones to give them a 1-2 punch in the backfield. What we didn't necessarily expect is both of them playing together. That's something O'Connell mentioned during his press conference on Wednesday. "Yeah, I think you can look at it a lot of ways, with looking at Aaron and Jordan," said O'Connell about how he might use Jones and Mason. "But how I just said it is how I see it. It's Aaron and Jordan and, the running back position, I wouldn't go to say it's as nuanced as the quarterback position of reps. But you want guys to be able to get in a rhythm. At the same time, we've got truly a combination that will cause a lot of problems between having two great backs that are different body types, maybe different skill sets, but they're complete backs. Aaron Jones can run in between the tackles, he can catch the ball, he can block in protection. He can line up anywhere in the formation. Jordan Mason has proven already to be well ahead of new players in the system from a protection standpoint. And clearly, he's got the body type to be a physical presence. So, I really see those guys playing off of each other, where we can keep them both fresh, keep them both in attack mode when they're in there. "But how CJ [Ham] and his role in the two back groupings, maybe we activate some two back groupings where we've got Jordan and Aaron in the game at the same time. There's a lot of things schematically that we're going to try and then, as we get towards the season, what gives us advantages? What allows us to play the most multiple way that all circles back to the number one question of what makes the quarterback's job easier and more likely to be quarterback friendly to apply to our whole system." 21 personnel, or the pony package (two running backs, one tight end), isn't something that's new or revolutionary in the National Football League, but it would allow the Vikings to maximize their potential advantages by attacking the second level of the defense. Last season, the Vikings only ran 21 personnel a grand total of 129 times (12.24%) which isn't very much. However, they didn't have a second running back to take advantage of that personnel grouping. They do now. While Mason isn't a dynamic route runner, Jones is a player you can trust to do those things. Texas routes, option routes, running rail and go routes down the field. You name it, and he can do it. Plus, Mason is "good enough" as a receiver to make him a credible enough of a threat out of the backfield to keep the defense honest. The key to maximizing 21 personnel isn't just to exploit the second level defenders in the passing game. You also have to have a good running game to prevent the defense from subbing in their nickel package. The other factor is that both backs need to be able to block well. That's not an issue for either guy. As O'Connell mentioned, this isn't a guarantee, but it is really interesting that he's already discussing it, especially when it was relatively unprompted.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
