20-year-old Issa Diop has been on the radar of Tottenham for a quite while now and is said to have impressed Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino with his performances for Toulouse in Ligue last season. The French defender was of the brightest young talents in the French top tier helping his side survive relegation while emerging as a target for several other European clubs.
The 20-year-old French defender had already made a statement regarding his future and that would soon have to leave Toulouse sometime in the future in order to progress further.
“Toulouse is my city, it is my club and I know that one day it will be necessary to leave it. Said Diop in an interview with Eurosport France.
“I will be sad, of course, but I know that my progress will go beyond there.”
While Issa Diop intends to leave his current club for a bigger challenge and bigger club in the coming future, it might not necessarily be Tottenham, so let’s take a look three alternative young defenders who could fit the bill at Tottenham.
Joe Gomez
The year old Liverpool defender is certainly one of the most talented youngsters in all of Europe. After being signed from Charlton Athletic in 2015, Gomez made an impressive debut for the Reds under the management of former Reds boss Brendan Rodgers. He made five appearances before suffering an ACL injury during an England U21 training session that ended his season. But he managed to recover from it and made his comeback against Plymouth in the FA Cup last season where he looked impressive once again. Gomez is physically strong and tall standing in at 6ft 2 in and is also a ball playing centre back. The Englishman is versatile and can play in a lot of different positions making him an excellent asset.
Michael Keane
The 24-year-old English centre-back is currently one of the most sought-after young defenders in the market after three impressive seasons at Burnley FC. He played a crucial role in helping his side survive relegation last season as well as showing his potential to the bigger clubs in Europe. He was shortlisted for the PFA Young Player of the Year last season. His experience of the Premier League makes him a suitable option for the Spurs. But, getting him may not be an easy task as there is more than one top club monitoring the Burnley man. Somehow, if Tottenham managed to get him, the good defence they have already will get that ‘overpowered’ tag.