Report: Tottenham battling Jose Mourinho to sign ‘incredible’ £17m defender who’s having brilliant World Cup

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An area that Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte seems very keen to improve in the next transfer window is his defence.

A report from AS suggests that he may face more competition than he would like for one of his reported targets.

It’s been a mixed tournament for Tottenham’s World Cup stars so far.

Cristian Romero had a poor game against Saudi Arabia, and was dropped for Saturday’s clash with Mexico.

Ben Davies looks set to return to Hotspur Way early, with Wales on the brink of elimination.

England’s Eric Dier doesn’t appear to be first-choice under Gareth Southgate, but Ivan Perisic had a fantastic game for Croatia against Canada.

One defender who is having a brilliant World Cup so far is Poland’s Jakub Kiwior.

The Poles have yet to concede a goal in Qatar, and look set to reach the knockout stages.

Tottenham are now battling to sign Kiwior with a number of top clubs around Europe, according to AS.

One of those is Jose Mourinho’s Roma, and Tottenham’s previous manager could end up scuppering their transfer plans.

Tottenham battling to sign Kiwior

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has previously suggested that Kiwior could be available for just £17m.

The Spezia centre-back has been ever present in Serie A and started alongside experience defender Kamil Glik in both of Poland’s World Cup games.

Kiwior tends to play as part of a back-three at club level, and so would slot into Conte’s tactical set-up easily.

He can function either as the central or left-sided centre-back and that versatility would make him a valuable asset.

He’s impressed Spezia’s chief football officer Eduardo Macia in recent times too with his development.

“Kiwior has had this incredible progress and is destined for an important step in his career, but it has to be at the right moment and there is no rush.” Macia said.

The futures of Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga are up in the air at Spurs.

With Clement Lenglet only on loan at Tottenham, bringing in another centre-back needs to be a priority.

Tottenham battling to sign Kiwior with the likes of Roma and Atletico shows how highly he’s rated.

It would be a sign of the club’s reputation on the continent if they can get a deal for Kiwior over the line.