A month or so ago, we wrote an article suggesting a handful of players Southampton could sign to bolster their centre-back needs if Virgil Van Dijk were to leave, and Rennes’ Joris Gnagnon was one of them.
However, if SFR Sport in France are to be believed, a couple of bigger clubs are interested in the 20-year-old defender, as both Tottenham and Chelsea are following his development carefully.
🔴⚫️ INFO #SFRSport : Joris Gnagnon courtisé par au moins 8 clubs européens 🔴⚫️ Toutes les infos ici ➡️ https://t.co/zgSRimIsP5 #91E #Mercato pic.twitter.com/GYdGMMvm0j
— SFR Sport (@SFR_Sport) May 22, 2017
Both keen employers of a three at the back formation, Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte will likely be thinking about the future with this signing, even if, after this season, Gnagnon has proven he can play first-team football rather comfortably.
On him, we wrote: “While not the tallest (6’1”), Gnagnon more than makes up for his lack of height with his defensive skills.
“Very adept at ‘mirroring’ his opponent, the young defender rarely has his back to the ball, tracking the attacking player until he sees the opportunity to pounce and win the ball back.
“His age does mean he gets a bit carried away at times, leading him to commit on average one foul a game, but with refereeing slightly more lenient in the Premier League than in Ligue 1, he’d probably get away with a bit more across the Channel.”
Gnagnon has earned a lot of praise this season, and that has come across in the long list of teams ready to challenge both Spurs and Chelsea for his services.
SFR Sport claim Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Gladbach, Inter Milan, Sevilla and Porto are all also after him, suggesting it could be a busy summer for Gnagnon.
Whether Chelsea and Tottenham can offer him the first-team football he will want, and need to develop, remains to be seen, but their interest will only be a boost for the youngster.
