Jules Kounde’s Tottenham transfer in doubt as Nuno Espirito Santo eyes two alternatives

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Reports have put Jules Kounde’s prospective move to Tottenham in doubt as transfer fees and a lack of European qualification are believed to pose obstacles to the deal. Boss Nuno Espirito Santo and director of football Fabio Paratici are supposedly eyeing two realistic alternatives who could be lured to north London ahead of next season.

At present, Kounde has a £68million buyout clause with Sevilla which is considerably higher than what Spurs would like to shell out for the player.

According to The Athletic, the Spanish club would be receptive to offers below that figure, although it would have to eclipse the £50million bid which Manchester City tried and failed with last summer.

This will come as discouraging news for Nuno and Paratici, who are believed to be in a position whereby player sales are required before they can commit to significant transfer investments in the coming weeks.

To compound the difficulty of the move, Kounde is thought to favour a club that can offer Champions League football next year.

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Due to their disappointing seventh-place finish last term, Spurs cannot table the prospect of allowing the highly-rated Frenchman to strut his stuff on the biggest stage.

As such, the deal between Spurs and Kounde appears to be fading into ‘unworkable’ territory.

Not oblivious to the situation, the Spurs hierarchy have pinpointed two alternatives.

Their ambitious option is believed to be Milan Skriniar, with the club tailing the Inter centre-back ‘for some time’ and even attempting to orchestrate a deal last summer.

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At that point, the club’s valuation prompted them to walk away from the deal, although Inter may be in a better (or, indeed, worse) financial position to play ball this time round.

With the need to raise cash through player sales instrumental in Antonio Conte’s decision to leave the Serie A champions, Inter know that they need to sell before they can buy.

The sale of Achraf Hakimi to PSG will have put a significant dent in the hole they currently inhabit, but they would surely be open to further business.

Failing a bid for Skriniar, Southampton’s domineering defender Jannik Vestergaard has been earmarked as something of a ‘Plan C’ at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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With just one year left on his deal with Saints, the Dane would be a considerably cheaper option than the previous two.

Furthermore, he is proven in the Premier League and would arrive off the back of an impressive Euro 2020 campaign where Denmark battled all the way to the semi-finals.

At 28 years old, Vestergaard would not quite carry the potential or the glamour of a Kounde or Skriniar, but he would be a capable body in the door during a summer where Spurs could be the subjects of a major defensive re-shuffle.

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