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Tottenham Hotspur are leading the hunt to recruit AS Roma centre-back Roger Ibanez, according to Roma Giallorossa, via Sport Witness.
According to the Italian newspaper, Roma director Tiago Pinto was in London last week and is said to have discussed Ibanez with Spurs officials. Spurs are thought to be “above all (the other suitors)” in the transfer sweepstakes, but not for the present asking price.
The quoted fee for the Brazilian defender is €30 million (£25 million). This is a fee that Daniel Levy is unwilling to commit to, preferring to sign the 24-year-old for roughly €20 million (£17 million).
Tottenham are not the only club interested in signing Ibanez; Chelsea and West Ham United are also interested. As a result, Roma is hoping for a “revival” of interest from rival teams that may be willing to offer more than Spurs.
Ibanez is one of the top defenders in Serie A and will be dearly missed in the Italian capital if he leaves.
He was instrumental in Roma’s journey to the Europa League final before losing to Sevilla, and no one will be sadder to see him go than his current manager. According to the AS Roma official website, Jose Mourinho was extremely nice to his defense during a press conference last year website.
“For me, he is untouchable.” Mourinho said, revealing his next line-up would be Ibanez “and 10 others”.
The defender stands at 6 foot 1, which isn’t massive for a Premeir League centre-back, but utilises his height well, winning 1.96 aerials per 90 as per FBRef, which places him about middle of the pack for that metric.
While a tremendous physical defender, being both quick and strong, Ibanez also boasts the qualities necessary to be a top level modern centre-back.
He is talented on the ball, averaging an 87.7% pass completion rate (73rd percentile), as well as ranking in the 65th percentile for progressive carries (0.74 per 90) and the 77th percentile for successful take-ons.
Off the ball, the Brazilian averages two tackles per game (82nd percentile) and 2.19 interceptions per game (97th percentile), demonstrating that he is a defender who can read the game as well as play it.
Ibanez will be a key component of Ange Postecoglou’s new-look Tottenham team, but it appears that it will only happen if Levy and Roma can narrow a roughly 33% valuation gap.