Here are your Tottenham Hotspur evening headlines for Monday, June 29.
Trippier on the one mistake which might have cost them the Champions League final
Former Tottenham right-back Kieran Trippier believes they would have won the 2019 Champions League final if they hadn’t let Mousa Dembele leave in January.
The Belgian moved to Guangzhou R&F midway through last season, and Trippier believes he could have been the difference in the final against Liverpool.
“He was the best player I've ever played with. For me you can't replace him, Mousa Dembele,” the England international said in a wide-ranging interview with The Beautiful Game podcast , in which he also discussed what he has heard about Tanguy Ndombele’s time at Spurs.
“We sold [Dembele] in January. I don't know about his situation and maybe he wanted to go but I personally feel that if we'd kept him for that extra four or five months and let him go on a free in the summer we would have done a lot, lot better.
"I think we would have won the final."
Tottenham eyeing cut-price move for Real Madrid’s forgotten man
Real Madrid could be prepared to let Lucas Vazquez leave this summer, and Spurs are reportedly monitoring the situation with a view to a cut-price £15million move.
The winger has won three Champions League titles with Los Blancos, scoring in the penalty shoot-out against Atletico Madrid in 2016, but has made just eight starts in the 2019/20 season. He has not played since the restart due to injury, but only has 14 total appearances to his name in La Liga this term.
Vazquez’s contract is due to expire in 2021, and Mundo Deportivo reports that Jose Mourinho is keen on the 28-year-old.
Madrid reportedly want €25m for the player, who was still playing for Real Madrid B when Mourinho’s time in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu came to an end in 2013.
However, Spurs are believed to be confident of bringing the price down in the light of Vazquez’s contract situation.
Spurs target Ake being eyed up by Manchester City
Manchester City have entered the race for Nathan Ake, a player who has been linked with Spurs during Jose Mourinho’s tenure.
The Dutchman played multiple times for Mourinho at Chelsea, making his Champions League bow under the current Tottenham boss, and the Express suggested earlier in the year that he could make a £40m switch from Bournemouth.
However, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein , City “appear the keenest suitor” for the Cherries defender, who cost £18m from Chelsea back in January 2017.
Ake’s future could depend on Bournemouth’s Premier League finish, with Eddie Howe’s side currently in the bottom three on goal difference, though their survival wouldn’t necessarily rule out a move away from the south coast.
