Tottenham plan Alejo Veliz medical as Edmond Tapsoba interest cools

Tottenham are closing in on the signing of highly-rated forward Alejo Veliz from Rosario Central in a deal worth £12.9million (€15m) plus add-ons.

Rosario are resigned to losing the 19-year-old but would like him to remain there on loan, with talks continuing between the clubs about when he would arrive at Spurs. The second phase of the Argentine Primera Division starts in late August and runs until mid-November.

Spurs consider Veliz, who starred for Argentina in the U-20 World Cup earlier this year, a player for the future, rather than a potential first-teamer immediately, in a similar mould to Pape Matar Sarr, who signed from Metz in summer 2021 but remained on loan at the French club for a season.

Meanwhile, Spurs have cooled their interest in Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba as they pursue other targets at centre-half, specifically Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven.

Spurs had been locked in talks with Leverkusen over the 24-year-old Burkino Faso international but the clubs were some way apart on the fee.

The imminent signing of Veliz, who is expected to have a medical at Spurs in the coming days before signing a five-year deal, is not linked to the future of Harry Kane, with Bayern Munich still confident of landing the England captain.

James Maddison has said he would love Kane to stay at Spurs and insists speculation about his future is not proving a distraction.