According to a recent report by Foot Mercato, Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on LOSC Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumaré. The same source has claimed that Spurs sent scouts to catch the midfielder in action for the France Under-20 side on Wednesday and were left impressed by his commanding performance on the pitch. However, Foot Mercato also stated that Mauricio Pochettino’s team would face stiff competition from Juventus in pursuit of the Ligue 1 midfielder.
The 20-year-old has put in a series of solid displays in the Lille midfield during this campaign. Although he has not been able to nail down a regular first-team berth under Christophe Galtier’s tutelage thus far, yet Soumare has still managed to feature in 15 matches for the French outfit this season across all competitions.
The Noisy-le-Sec born sensation came through Paris Saint-Germain’s academy and worked his way up the club’s youth system. However, he failed to impress for the PSG ‘B’ team and was soon released by the Ligue 1 giants.
LOSC Lille decided to give him a chance in the summer of 2017, and since joining them, he has been a real revelation at the heart of their midfield. Soumare is widely regarded as one of the best young players coming out of French football so it will be a massive coup for Spurs if they can bring him to England this summer.
The French youngster is a powerhouse in midfield and can protect the backline quite effectively by sensing danger and nipping the opposition attacks in the bud.
However, the jury is still out on whether he can put in a run of consistent displays at the highest level. Furthermore, Soumare is yet to prove his worth outside of France so it will be a risk to sign him without knowing whether he will be able to cope with the physical toll of Premier League football.
The acquisition of Soumare will undoubtedly bolster Pochettino’s attacking options in the future. Tottenham have currently got a whole host of talented midfielders such as Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks, Christian Eriksen, Moussa Sissoko and Eric Dier vying for a midfield berth in Pochettino’s starting XI. Thus, it’s hard to see how Soumare will be able to get any game time under his belt if he makes a switch to White Hart Lane at the end of this campaign.
