Tottenham 'in three-team transfer fight' for £16.5m defender as Ange Postecoglou battles Liverpool legend

The Lilywhites have been bereft of defensive options throughout the festive period and have just been rocked by the news that Destiny Udogie will spend six weeks on the sidelines with a new hamstring injury.

Udogie joins Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero in the treatment room, and the latter two defenders are not expected back from their own thigh concerns for another few weeks.

As a result, Ange Postecoglou has been forced to field a makeshift central pairing of Radu Dragusin and 18-year-old Archie Gray, with fellow teenager Alfie Dorrington in reserve but yet to start a game.

The Tottenham boss has confirmed that his side will be in the market for new faces during the ongoing January window, and according to Football Insider, Udinese's Kristensen has emerged as a prime candidate.

Spurs to battle Bayer Leverkusen for Kristensen signature?

The 22-year-old Dane made his senior breakthrough with Aarhus GF in his homeland before joining Udinese in a £4.2m deal in 2023, and he quickly became a regular fixture in the heart of the Zebrette defence.

Kristensen set up one goal in 26 matches in his debut Serie A campaign, although he has been restricted to just seven appearances this season, having missed the whole of October with a calf injury.

The centre-back stands at a staggering 6ft 6in tall and has also represented Denmark from Under-18 to Under-21 level, and he is being tipped to make his senior debut for the Scandinavians in March.

Kristensen's contract at Udinese runs for another three-and-a-half years, but the report claims that the Serie A side would be prepared to entertain offers of around £16.5m mark either in January or the summer.

However, Tottenham will have to fend off interest from Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester City to win the race for the 2002-born defender, whom they apparently scouted in Udinese's 2-1 win over Fiorentina just before Christmas.

What other defenders could Tottenham target?

Kristensen certainly represents a young, affordable and physically imposing target, but Tottenham are not expected to put all their eggs in one defensive basket and are weighing up a few options for reinforcements at the back.

On Thursday, it was reported that the Lilywhites are one of four teams in the running to sign AC Milan defender and former Chelsea man Fikayo Tomori, who has slipped down the pecking order at San Siro.

Lens and Uzbekistan youngster Abdukodir Khusanov is reportedly another name on Tottenham's radar, but the Lilywhites are facing incredibly stiff competition from Manchester City for the 20-year-old.

Inter Milan's Stefan de Vrij could be an intriguing stop-gap option - he is now in the last six months of his Nerazzurri deal - but his former teammate, Paris Saint-Germain's Milan Skriniar, is apparently in talks over a move to Turkey.

Postecoglou is expected to deploy the Gray-Dragusin pairing once again when Spurs tackle Newcastle United in Saturday's early Premier League kickoff.

Written by

Ben Knapton