Tottenham Hotspur are ready to pay £17m to sign Roger Ibanez this summer after opening talks with AS Roma over a potential deal.
The 24-year-old joined the Giallorossi back in 2020 from Atalanta on an initial loan deal before signing permanently the following year. Upon moving to the Stadio Olimpico, the Brazilian has established himself as a key first-team member of the Serie A side over the last few years, helping his team in winning the Conference League trophy last term.
Ibanez’s promising performances for Roma haven’t gone unnoticed as he has been attracting interest from several clubs around Europe with Tottenham among those to have registered their interest.
According to the report by Romagiallorossa.it, Ibanez is set to leave Jose Mourinho’s side during this summer transfer window and Tottenham are ‘very interested’ in securing his signature.
The report further claims that Spurs have already opened negotiations with Roma over a potential move and they are willing to spend a fee of around £17m to purchase the South American.
So, the Italian outlet states that although the Giallorossi want at least £26m [€30m] to let their star man, who still has two years left in his current contract, leave this summer, they could eventually accept the Lilywhites’ offer if they submit a £17m bid.
However, Romagiallorossa.it says that West Ham United and Chelsea have also held talks with Roma regarding a deal to sign Ibanez this summer. But, Tottenham are currently ahead of their English rivals in the race to sign the former Atalanta star.
Ibanez is quick, excellent in the air, comfortable playing out from the back, efficient in defensive contributions and also reads the game extremely well.
The 24-year-old is an extremely talented player and possesses high potential. With Tottenham looking to sign a new centre-back to solidify their leaky defence, Ibanez would be an excellent acquisition should they manage to get a deal done for him.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether Ange Postecoglou’s side opt to formalise their interest in signing Ibanez should he eventually ends up leaving the Italian capital in this transfer window.
