Paratici eyeing swoop for "special" £76m "baller", he could be Spurs' best signing yet - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur have entered the race to sign Jules Kounde, and he could be their best summer signing yet.

According to The Mirror, the north London outfit are the latest side to be linked with a move for the Sevilla centre-back but they will need to beat off interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

The France international has a release clause of £76m, so he will certainly not come cheap but it appears as if Spurs’ attentions have turned to Kounde after missing out on Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni.

And the door has seemingly opened for the Lilywhites to make their move as Chelsea close in on the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli instead. It is also thought that the player would prefer a move to the Premier League, with Newcastle United also keen.

Tottenham have already signed as many as five new players this summer and are potentially near a sixth arrival in the form of Djed Spence from Middlesbrough.

It appears as if they aren’t done yet, despite splashing the cash on Richarlison, who cost £60m from Everton, and Yves Bissouma, who cost around £30m with add-ons from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic arrived on free transfers, whilst Clement Lenglet is through the door on a loan deal from Barcelona.

The possible signing of Kounde could eclipse all of these as the 23-year-old could be a key cog in manager Antonio Conte’s backline for years to come – just imagine the partnership he and Cristian Romero could form.

Kounde ended the 2021/22 campaign as the second highest-rated player in Seville, per WhoScored figures. Despite standing at just 5 foot 10, he won more aerial duels than anyone else (2.4 per game) and also averaged 1.3 tackles each outing too.

Interestingly, the Frenchman’s profile