Tottenham Hotspur could be set to revisit a deal for one of their summer targets, according to a fresh report in the last 48 hours.
Who are Tottenham linked with?
With Ange Postecoglou still searching for a replacement for Harry Kane, Lille’s Jonathan David and Brentford’s Ivan Toney are the two strikers to have been linked with a move in January, but it’s no secret that the boss is in the market for a new centre-back.
The Lilywhites could be set to sanction the sale of Eric Dier who is attracting significant interest from Jose Mourinho at AS Roma, and despite having been credited with an admiration for Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba to replace him, another candidate was wanted in September, and he's already in the Premier League.
On deadline day, Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly was the subject of a £20m bid from Daniel Levy but this offer was turned down by Andoni Iraola’s side who were adamant to hold onto their prized asset, though chiefs might be able to take a second bite at the cherry. The England youth international will be out of contract at the end of the current campaign meaning that the upcoming window is his club’s final opportunity to cash in should they not want to risk losing the 25-year-old for free (Bournemouth contracts).
Lloyd Kelly transfer update
According to Football.london who have shared a transfer update on Lloyd Kelly, Spurs may decide to turn their attention back towards the defender at Bournemouth in January, whilst also providing some news on the pursuit of Chelsea's Conor Gallagher.
"Amid interest in Chelsea's Conor Gallagher and Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly during the summer market, the football club could potentially revisit moves for the highly-rated duo.
"Whereas a transfer for Gallagher may now be incredibly hard to pull off as he has started all eight of the Blues' league games this season and also captained the side when Reece James and Ben Chilwell have been missing, a deal for Kelly may prove to be a bit more straightforward.
"Having sold Davinson Sanchez to Galatasaray after the closure of the Premier League transfer window, Spurs are short on options at centre-back and Postecoglou is well aware of that fact."
How tall is Lloyd Kelly?
Standing at 5 foot 10, Kelly isn’t the tallest for a centre-back, but his height doesn’t stop him from being a rock at the heart of Bournemouth’s backline where he’s currently averaging 2.3 clearances per top-flight game this season (WhoScored – Kelly statistics).
The Bristol-born talent, who is naturally left-footed, is also a versatile operator having previously been deployed at both left-back and right-back alongside his usual role in the middle, so he would be able to easily adapt to the manager’s demands should he ever want to alter his formation or team selection (Transfermarkt – Lloyd Kelly statistics).
Furthermore, Kelly, who earns £30k-per-week (Bournemouth salaries), has once previously beaten the Lilywhites, so if he’s already a “brilliant” player now, as hailed by journalist Josh Bunting, imagine how much more he could flourish under the guidance of Postecoglou.