Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to step up their interest in Fulham defender, Tosin Adarabioyo, with the Lilywhites continuing their search to find new centre-back additions ahead of next season.
What's the latest on Adarabioyo to Tottenham?
According to respected journalist, Alasdair Gold, the north Londoners are seemingly set to make an offer for the 25-year-old, with the one-time Manchester City man believed to be open to the idea of making the move to N17.
Writing on Twitter, the transfer insider revealed: "Also understand there is a growing expectation Spurs will make a bid for Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo as one CB arrival. The 25-year-old is believed to be keen on the move and Spurs have shown a lot of interest in him. Again, they can't hang around though."
In his attached piece for football.london, Gold reveals that Spurs will have to move quickly due to the rival interest in the 6 foot 5 colossus, with the former England youth international potentially set to be available for around €15m (£13m) after entering the final year of his contract at Craven Cottage.
How good is Tosin Adarabioyo?
As Gold's report also noted, Tottenham are also believed to be keen on Crystal Palace star Joachim Andersen as another centre-back target, albeit with prior speculation suggesting that the Denmark international could command a rather hefty fee of around £50m this summer.
The signing of Adarabioyo, therefore, on a cut-price deal could prove to be a dream alternative to the 27-year-old, with the Cottagers' ace said to be statistically and stylistically similar to Andersen, according to FBref.
With the Palace man also a towering figure at 6 foot 4, the pair are both unsurprisingly able to put their impressive physical stature to good use, with Andersen ranking in the top 16% among those in his position in Europe's top five leagues for aerial duels won, while Adarabioyo is only just behind as he ranks in the top 24% in that regard.
While neither man is likely to carry the ball out from the back, as both Adarabioyo and Andersen racked up just 16 progressive carries in the league in 2022/23, that's not to suggest that they aren't comfortable on the ball, having recorded 95 and 105 progressive passes, respectively, last term.
To put that into perspective, current Tottenham man, Cristian Romero notably recorded 19 progressive carries and 92 progressive passes last season, with that a similar record to Ange Postecoglou's two reported targets.
The duo also enjoyed a similar record defensively in 2022/23, with the Fulham man averaging 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game from his 25 league outings, while his Palace counterpart averaged 2.1 for that same metric – albeit with neither man coming close to Romero's average of 4.1.
For Postecoglou to snap up either Andersen or Adarabioyo would seemingly be a wise move due to their proven ability in the Premier League, although if forced to choose between the two, the attractive nature of the latter man's price tag could make him a more worthwhile option.
Previously dubbed "immense" by Tony Mowbray during his time on loan at Blackburn Rovers in the past, the Manchester-born rock has no doubt warranted a high-profile summer switch, having previously been unable to make his mark at the Etihad, where he made just eight first-team outings.
A second chance at an 'elite' outfit like Spurs could now be on the horizon, albeit with Postecoglou and co – as Gold suggested – needing to act swiftly if they are to get their man.