Spurs chase Italian international to reinforce defence

Tottenham Hotspur's biggest need this summer is a left back, but they're almost certainly in need of a central defender as well, perhaps two. One that they're being linked to is Italian international Davide Astori, who's likely to leave Cagliari this summer. Football Italia has the rumor, via Il Messaggero, and claims Spurs are in competition with every big Serie A team.

I've liked what I've seen from Astori and feel like he's good enough to start for Spurs, or a similarly big club in a league outside of Serie A. However, I asked SB Nation Serie A and The Siren's Song editor Kirsten Schlewitz what she thinks of Astori, and she seems to think a bit less of him than I do, though she's certainly not trashing him.

"It's not that there's something specifically bad about Astori. He's just a traditional centerback who's able to clear the ball, make a tackle and not get caught out of position. He's solid at Cagliari but they're a small club that plays for a draw as often as possible. When the majority of the side is focused on stopping the opposition, he's not often exposed. I can't help but feel there's a reason he keeps getting linked to Italy's big clubs and they keep passing on him."

Personally, I feel like Astori would make a great partner for Jan Vertonghen in Spurs' first-choice defense going forward. I'm not sure that there's anything to this rumor, but I hope we start seeing more on it from the likes of the more reputable English outlets and our old buddy Gianluca Di Marzio.