Spurs want £22m defender who’s faster than Ryan Sessegnon

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Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah in recent months and speculation is intensifying ahead of the January transfer window.

Spurs seemingly did try to land Chalobah late on deadline day at the end of the summer transfer window, but left things too late.

Then, Calciomercato reported in October that Tottenham remained in the mix for the Blues defender ahead of the window reopening.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the reported Spurs target will definitely leave Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window.

“From what I’m hearing the only player who is expected to leave Chelsea in that position (central defence) in January is Trevoh Chalobah,” he said on YouTube.

Trevoh Chalobah ticks many Tottenham boxes

Tottenham could certainly do with bolstering their defensive ranks further. Although Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are a world-class pairing, there isn’t much strength in depth beyond them.

Spurs had to line up with back-up players in three of the four defensive positions against Wolves and the drop-off in quality was noticeable as Postecoglou’s charges fell to a late defeat.

Chalobah would be a good shout for Tottenham. He’s a top talent who’s barely getting a look-in at Chelsea, and Postecoglou would no doubt revive his career and get him firing on all cylinders.

The 24-year-old also has extensive English football experience and has clocked up close to 50 appearances in the Premier League and a further nine in the Champions League.

‘I’m always working on my speed’

Then we have Chalobah’s versatility. Not only can he play at centre-back, but also at right-back and defensive midfield.

With Tottenham set to lose Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr to the Africa Cup of Nations next year, signing Chalobah makes perfect sense as cover in defence and in midfield.

Chalobah is also blessed with outstanding speed. In 2022, he told UEFA.com: “I’m always working on my speed.

“After every game when we get into training, it will be on the screen: the max speed we hit, the work rate, the speeds, the decelerations, everything. My highest would be probably 34km/h.”

By comparison, SpeedsDB has clocked Spurs full-back Ryan Sessegnon at 33.60km/h. Needless to say, Chalobah is fast.

Gianluca Di Marzio reported in summer that Chelsea were looking for around €25million (£22million) to sell Chalobah. For a club like Tottenham, this is an affordable fee.

All in all, he looks like a great shout for Spurs. He’s talented, experienced, young, home-grown, and should be available for a decent price.