Spurs handed boost in reported race for £10m man tipped to soon interest ‘half of Europe’

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Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a boost in their reported pursuit of Legia Warsaw full-back Michal Karbownik with Sevilla effectively ruling themselves out of the race.

The 19-year-old, who can play as a full-back, on the wing and in midfield, is deemed one of Poland’s brightest young talents, with 22 senior appearances under his belt already since breaking into the first team last year.

A report in The Mirror (26/04, p68) claims that Tottenham have been monitoring Karbownik for around a year, while Dinamo Moscow, AC Milan and Real Betis were also thought to be keen.

Legia are said to have placed a £10million price tag on Karbownik, but it remains to be seen whether the impact on the football industry caused by the global health crisis could have an impact on player values.

The Daily Record, meanwhile, said Celtic were also in the hunt for the Polish prodigy, while El Desmarque has cited interest in him from Sevilla.

However, director of football Monchi has poured cold water on the speculation, telling the Spanish outlet: “Karbownik is as close to Seville as Seville is to Warsaw.

“Obviously he is a boy who is standing out. He is having a good season and it is duty to watch him. We have seen him, but today he is not in our plans.  In that position, there are a couple of guys from the youth setup who can come in handy.”

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Karbownik is an exciting young prospect, who has already been entrusted with the left-back position in Legia’s main team despite being right-footed, and can play on both sides of defence as well as in midfield (Transfermarkt).

With Spurs arguably needing reinforcements at both full-back positions as well as defensive midfield, the teenager could be a versatile up-and-coming option for Jose Mourinho, while his reported price tag is relatively modest.

Interestingly, Karbownik began his career as a midfielder but an injury to Legia left-back Ivan Obradovic meant manager Aleksandar Vukovic had to try his luck with the academy gem at left-back, and it has certainly worked out great.

Indeed, Vukovic was so impressed with Karbownik’s transition that he told Sport.pl earlier this year that, one day, “half of Europe will be fighting for his signature” – and with Sevilla out of the running, it’s one less obstacle for Spurs in terms of the race for his services.