Date published: Thursday 17th February 2022 12:02 – Will Ford
Arsenal and Tottenham have reportedly joined the race to sign Croatian left-back Borna Sosa.
Chelsea are said to have held talks with the £25m-rated Stuttgart star in January, before the German side blocked the move.
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Thomas Tuchel was keen on signing the 24-year-old as cover for Ben Chilwell, who looks to be out for the rest of the season, but Stuttgart didn’t want Sosa to leave mid-season.
And now, BILD’s Christian Falk claims Arsenal and Spurs are set to do battle for the Croatia international.
Sosa – who can play either at left-back or left wing-back – has one goal and four assists in 18 appearances for Stuttgart this term.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte will move to strengthen a squad he claims was “weakened” by the club’s January business this summer, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will likely look to continue his rebuild.
Spurs currently have Sergio Reguilon, Ben Davies and Steven Sessegnon as potential left-sided options, while the Gunners have Nuno Tavares and Kieran Tierney already vying for the left-back role.
On Tottenham’s January business, Conte said: “I saw some situations from the outside that could be developed, but when you get into it, you realise something…
“What happened in January is not easy. Four players left in January. Four important players for Tottenham, two have arrived. So even numerically instead of reinforcing yourself you may have, on paper, weakened.”
Conte has been backed with ready-made signings at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan but believes that will not be the case at Spurs.
He added: “It is inevitable that in January it is very difficult to get two players like Bentancur and Kulusevski to sign who, I repeat, are the ideal prospects for Tottenham. Because Tottenham is looking for young players, players to be developed, not ready players. That is the issue.
“The vision, the philosophy of the club is this. It is inevitable that if you want to grow faster and if you want to be competitive more quickly you need players with a lot of experience because they also lead to an increase in experience in your team.
“But then again, the vision of the club I realised is this and will continue to be this.”