Tottenham target January move for AC Milan's Franck Kessie; Spurs and Wolves far apart in their valuations of Adama Traore; talks also held with Paris Saint-Germain about Tanguy Ndombele with swap deal discussed; Steven Bergwijn set to stay after Leicester heroics
Friday 21 January 2022 06:06, UK
Tottenham want to sign AC Milan's Franck Kessie in January and have spoken to Wolves about Adama Traore, with talks also held with Paris Saint-Germain over Tanguy Ndombele.
Kessie's Milan contract expires on June 30 and he is free to speak to clubs outside Italy with Spurs having already held talks with the Ivory Coast midfielder's representatives about a free transfer in the summer.
Antonio Conte is an admirer of 25-year-old Kessie, who scored for Ivory Coast knocked who eliminated Algeria from the African Cup of Nations on Thursday.
Tottenham have also spoken to Wolves about signing Adama Traore.
Spurs were in talks to sign Traore at the end of the summer transfer window and reignited that interest earlier this month.
No official bid has been submitted just yet by Spurs and it is believed that there is as much as £10m difference in the two clubs' respective valuations of the player. Wolves want around £25m for Traore, who has 18 months left on his contract.
Traore scored his first goal since May in Saturday's 3-1 win over Southampton but has come under fire for a lack of end product throughout his career.
He has scored just 10 goals in 152 appearances for Wolves and boss Bruno Lage has refused to offer assurances the 25-year-old would stay at Molineux.
Lage said: "I know nothing about it, but what is the most important thing in the world of football? It has to be good for the club and good for the player. I'm happy with my forwards. But you never know."
Spurs have also held talks with Paris Saint-Germain over Tanguy Ndombele without reaching an agreement about a transfer to the French capital for the midfielder.
Ndombele has been linked with a move away from Tottenham. He was booed by a section of supporters after slowly making his way off the field in the recent FA Cup third-round tie with Morecambe and was reportedly training away from the first team.
Spurs and PSG have spoken about a potential swap deal for Ndombele, but Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte is understood not to be overly keen on the PSG options presented.
Sky Sports News last week reported that Tottenham have also held talks with Spanish and Italian clubs about Ndombele.
Steven Bergwijn, meanwhile, looks increasingly likely to stay at Tottenham beyond this transfer window after his last-minute heroics at Leicester on Wednesday night.
Ajax have been trying to sign him in this window but it has all gone quiet after a £15m (€18m) bid was rejected more than a week ago.
Bergwijn has never asked Spurs if he could leave the club this month and just wants to play regularly and get into the Netherlands World Cup squad. Conte has also given strong indications that he wants the forward to stay.
After Bergwijn netted twice deep into injury-time to clinch a 3-2 win for Spurs over Leicester, Conte told reporters that Bergwijn is an "important player with special characteristics".
Bergwijn scored twice in 80 seconds in what is the latest win from a losing position by any side in Premier League history.
AC Milan have expressed an interest in making a loan move for Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga.
It is believed that Tanganga, who has started 15 games in all competitions this season, has concerns about his game time once Eric Dier and Christian Romero return from injury.
Tanganga's last Premier League appearance came in the 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day, with the Englishman an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw at Southampton on December 28 and for the narrow victory over Watford on New Year's Day.
The 22-year-old played the full 90 minutes in both legs of Tottenham's EFL Cup loss to Chelsea this month, along with their 3-1 victory against League One Morecambe in the third round of the FA Cup.
Milan currently sit second in Serie A after their 2-1 loss at home to Spezia on Monday, two points behind city rivals Inter having played a game more.
Who will be on the move in January?
The January transfer window opens on Saturday January 1, 2022 and closes at 11pm on Monday January 31.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
