Tottenham eyeing shock move for £23m defender who Frank called a "leader"

da bet sport： Tottenham Hotspur are now eyeing a shock move for a £23m defender, who Thomas Frank is well-known to be an admirer of, according to a report.

Spurs keen to bring in more depth at centre-back

da wazamba： Tottenham are blessed with some fantastic options at centre-back, with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero being given the nod against Burnley on Saturday afternoon, and the duo played their part by keeping a clean sheet in the 3-0 victory.

However, Ange Postecoglou was left light on options in defence last season, with both Van de Ven and Romero spending time on the sidelines due to injury, meaning Frank may be keen to bring in another centre-back as a back-up option.

Luka Vusakovic finally completed his move to north London earlier this summer, but the Croatian is still only 18-years-old, and there have been suggestions that Frank would be willing to sanction the youngster leaving on a loan deal.

As such, it would make sense to bring in an older defender, who has experience in the Premier League, and the Lilywhites have now joined the race for one of Frank’s former players.

That is according to a report from The Daily Mail, which states Tottenham are now eyeing a shock move for Brentford’s Nathan Collins, who joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £23m on a six-year deal back in 2023.

As a result, the Bees are likely to be in a strong negotiating position, and they may be highly reluctant to sell, having named Collins as their captain earlier this summer.

Frank is said to be an admirer of the defender, having spent time working with him at the Gtech Community Stadium, although the Danish coach could be hesitant to sanction a move, given that he still holds a lot of respect for his former club.

Collins could be ideal signing for Tottenham

Tottenham’s well-documented injury problems meant they were left extremely short on centre-back options last season, with the likes of Ben Davies and Archie Gray receiving more game time than they’d perhaps envisaged.

However, with Davies’ contract set to expire next summer, and Gray still in the infancy of his career, Spurs could do with bringing in a more dependable back-up option, and the Brentford captain certainly fits the bill in that regard.

The 24-year-old is now very experienced at Premier League level, having featured in every single game for Brentford last season, during which time the Irishman also managed to impress Frank, who described him as a “natural leader”.

Collins featured for the most minutes of any outfield player in the Premier League in the 2024-25 campaign, and with Tottenham in need of a deeper squad ahead of a Champions League campaign, he could be a fantastic addition to Frank’s squad.