Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly readying a second bid for Portugal midfielder Adrien Silva as Mauricio Pochettino continues his search for more balance to his midfield. The 28-year-old has been a hot prospect in the transfer market for quite some time now and Sporting CP’s disappointing domestic campaign has further increased chances of such a thing happening.
Spurs had made an earlier bid of £17.5 million for the player when he was playing in the Confederations Cup, but it was promptly rejected by the Portuguese club. Tottenham had only one buy going their way last season in Victor Wanyama, whom Pochettino knew from his Southampton days. And the manager had to put tremendous responsibilities on him owing to Dembele’s recurring injuries and repetitive need of Eric Dier at the back.
Nevertheless, Tottenham did manage to churn out a successful season in the Premier League courtesy to the brilliant consistency the players, which saw Dembele, Dier and sometimes young Harry Winks stepping up as and when needed. Now with the Argentine getting yet another go at the Champions League, he wouldn’t risk running out of options next season and Adrien Silva is seen by him as the perfect addition to the side.
The Portuguese had a bad campaign in the Confederations Cup as Portugal found themselves outclassed by Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the semi-finals. But, he did manage to score the winner against Mexico from the spot in the extra time as Portugal got the third place in the tournament. Both Sporting CP midfielders Silva along with William Carvalho hold Portugal’s midfield and both are expected to part ways from the Portuguese giants this summer.
The youth product of Ligue 1 Bordeaux, Silva was taken up by Sporting CP back in 2001 at a very young age of 15. They had realised his potential long back and although it took the player seven years to break into the first team, he hasn’t been a bad investment. Few loan stints with Israeli side Maccabi Haifa and second tier Portuguese side Académica Coimbra saw him grow into the polished product that he is today.
Since then, he has played 200 games for the side helping them to win seven domestic titles. From the deep midfield, Silva has scored 38 goals and registered 19 assists. While Spurs would find it difficult to lure away a fan favourite star from the club, £27 million should be enough to do it. The offer stands at £26 million, plus £4.4 million in add-ons and Pochettino expects to seal the deal this time.
