Tottenham has finalized the transfer of Micky van de Ven, backs off from Edmond Tapsoba

[Update: According to Fabrizio Romano, there is now full agreement for this transfer.]

Tottenham Hotspur appear to have made their choice for a new first choice central defender. Multiple outlets, including David Ornstein in The Athletic, that Spurs are on the verge of completing the signing of Wolfsburg CB Micky Van de Ven. The transfer fee is said to be, while perhaps a little higher than Spurs had hoped, still reasonable.

The transfer is not yet fully complete, but it’s said to be in the final stages of negotiation with details such as number and length of installments to be decided.

But this imminent signing of Van de Ven comes at the expense of Spurs’ continued pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba. Indeed, the Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick writes that Spurs have “cooled” their interest in Tapsoba, opting to pursue a permanent deal for Van de Ven. There had been talk that Spurs were hopeful they could compete deals for both, but Bayer had been demanding upwards of £50m for a player with four years left on his contract.

It’s been a quiet couple of weeks on the transfer front while Spurs traveled and returned from their preseason tour, but the news has hotted up significantly over the past few days. Spurs are also on the verge of signing 19-year old Argentina U20 international striker Alejo Veliz for a fee of around £18m.

Does this sudden flurry of transfer activity suggest something is afoot with Harry Kane? Well, that’s another article.

Update (10:10 am ET): Here we go!