Tottenham set sights on Europa-winning wingback as first signing of the summer

There’s a reason Fabrizio Romano says “Here we go!” during this time of the year, because it’s full speed ahead of Silly Season.

News broke earlier today that ENIC are pumping a lot of cash into Tottenham Hotspur, specifically to the tune of £150m. Couple that with player sales and the current kitty, and that’s a big chunk of change for Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici to use Uncle Joe’s Amex Black card on players.

While we know Fraser Forster is already on the radar, the first player that’s going to require some negotiations appears to marked and locked in: Europa League winner Filip Kostic. According to Darren Lewis over at the Mirror, Spurs want to make the 29-year-old wingback a part of the Champions League squad next season. The cost? A mere £12m.

Among his potential arrivals is £12million-rated Kostic. The 29-year-old has just a year left on his contract and both Conte and his Director of Football Management, Fabio Paratici, are keen to invest in his consistency. Last weekend Kostic was crowned Europa League Player of the Tournament by UEFA. He is among a string of targets Conte has laid out to target with the backing of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy this summer.

If you want to know how good Kostic’s been this season, the good folks at FBref has you covered:

This isn’t a lock, of course. Spurs are definitely kicking the tires on Ivan Perisic, but he also is 33 years old and will want much higher wages. Reportedly, Kostic is making under £50k/week at Frankfurt so throwing him a three year deal and bumping him up makes a lot of sense. He’s also quite comparable to Perisic so if he’s only going to cost around £12m, there’s no reason not to do this and strengthen the left flank.

To those of you wondering what this means for Ryan Sessegnon and Sergio Reguilon, the belief is that Sessegnon has earned his spot on the squad with his performance down the stretch. Reguilon, having a rather weird transfer deal from Madrid, looks to be on the chopping block and will be sold during the summer. He has a few suitors out there, including both Madrid clubs and Barcelona, so it would be a hell of a surprise if he’s still here come August.

Are we having fun yet? It’s just getting started.