Tottenham round-up: Hoffenheim set price; Kovacic hopes fading; Pochettino on transfer activity

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According to fresh reports coming from Sky Sports, Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim have put a £13 million valuation on Tottenham’s summer target Jeremy Toljan.

The 22-year-old defender has become a player of real interest for Mauricio Pochettino as he looks to invest in a right-back following Kyle Walker’s £50 million exit last month.

But the latest update claims that Spurs will have to fork out nearly £13 million to secure the highly-rated German’s signature, who is currently set to enter the final year of his contract at Hoffenheim.

It is understood that, despite the reported interest, Tottenham are yet to make a formal enquiry about the Germany Under-21 international – but ‘clubs in Spain and Italy’ have contacted the Bundesliga side.

Meanwhile, Tottenham’s hopes of luring Real Madrid’s highly-talented young midfielder Mateo Kovacic over to White Hart Lane this summer seem to be fading, according to reports from Spain.

Marca claim that Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has been impressed by the 23-year-old during pre-season, starring despite ending up on the losing side in the 3-2 defeat to rivals Barcelona last Saturday.

It is believed that Zidane’s trust in Kovacic has been rekindled after his performances over the last month, giving him the support needed to battle Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Isco for starting roles.

The Standard had reported early last month that Tottenham were on alert over a potential move for the Croatia international, with Madrid prepared to sell, but it seems he will be staying in Spain for now.

Away from the speculation, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has openly admitted that his side will struggle to challenge for the Premier League title this season unless they start bringing in players.

The north London side are the only team in the Premier League yet to have any new arrivals during the summer transfer window to date, despite the fact that the new season starts in just nine days.

And Pochettino has said that Spurs will struggle to compete with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea for trophies unless signings come in that can make current key players raise their own games.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Argentine said: “We understand that Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, [Eric] Dier, [Toby] Alderweireld are really good players. They want to win but need to feel the pressure a little bit to improve every season.

“If there’s no competition in behind it’s normal to drop your motivation, it’s normal to drop everything that you do. And then it’s difficult to win.

“We are not a club today that can compete with Manchester United and City for a player. We cannot fight. We are in a different way. But the thing is Daniel [Levy] is very keen to sign like me. These type of player we are talking about they are not easy to find.”

Tottenham face one final pre-season friendly against Champions League runners-up Juventus next Saturday in their first game of the season at Wembley, before travelling to Newcastle on August 13.