Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake again as the hunt for a Toby Alderweireld replacement begins.
Alderweireld has just one year left on his contract and could leave this summer if his £25 million release clause is triggered.
The Sun claims Manchester United remain interested in the Belgian, whose potential exit means Spurs must start looking for a new centre-back to fill the void.
According to the newspaper’s report, Bournemouth are expecting a £40 million from Tottenham for Ake.
The former Chelsea centre-back, 24, started in all 38 of Bournemouth’s Premier League fixtures this season and scored four goals, including the winner in a 1-0 victory over Spurs.
Only relegated Fulham and Huddersfield conceded more goals than the 70 Bournemouth shipped this term, but Ake is generally considered the Cherries’ best defender.
The report claims Tottenham are also tracking Callum Wilson and David Brooks, who are likely to be the subject of summer bids following impressive campaigns for Bournemouth.
Whether Ake is good enough to return to a top six side is up for debate, but he is certainly affordable compared to some of the other centre-backs on the market.
Even though Ake is a very talented young player right now he’s not good enough to replace Toby. Toby and Vertonghen are top class especially together. Although Ake is definitely good enough for Tottenham to bring in since Toby will be going nowhere. If Ake can come in and play with and learn from his team mates Toby, Vertonghen, Sanchez and Foyth then he could go on next season and for season’s after to be a top class defender imo especially since one of our top guys is now 32.