'Why not?': Tottenham move for £50m Premier League star talked up, pundit hopes for January transfer
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As Tottenham Hotspur set their sights on an old flame, the Premier League outfit had better prepare themselves for a pretty hefty outlay.
Back in the summer of 2022, two-and-a-half years ago now, Spurs were credited with an interest in a 19-year-old central defender. A 19-year-old central defender who, only a few months ago, would eventually make a £24 million move to England.
But not to Tottenham. Instead, it was AFC Bournemouth who took the plunge on Ilya Zabarnyi.
A decision which has worked out pretty well both both parties. Zabarnyi has benefitted immensely from the sort of regular first-team football Bournemouth could provide, while The Cherries look destined to be rewarded with a massive profit when the time comes for the Ukraine international to make the next step.
That time, meanwhile, appears to be approaching pretty rapidly.
L’Equipe claim that Paris Saint-Germain have opened talks. TBR Football can confirm that Illya Zabarnyi is on Tottenham’s radar again after establishing himself in England’s top flight. He helped Bournemouth keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Spurs this month, a game Chelsea had scouts attending.
But a player Spurs could have signed for £24 million is now worth twice as much. Bournemouth are expected to demand £50 million in 2025.
Ilya Zabarnyi’s Tottenham Hotspur move talked up in Ukraine
Former Dynamo Kiev ace Viktor Leonenko, meanwhile, feels that no Ukrainian footballer has been more impressive than Zabarnyi across the entirety of 2024.
“Of course, Zabarnyi,” Leonenko tells UKR Football when asked to name the player who has impressed him the most over the last 12 months. Our best players are either defenders or goalkeepers. There’s no one else to choose from.
“Zabarnyi has a good reputation press in England and stable at Bournemouth. I hope that, in the winter, he will be taken somewhere to a good club.”
Of course, Bournemouth fans will bristle at the suggestion that Zabarnyi needs to move on again in order to progress. Andoni Iraola’s high-flyers are currently four places and two points above Tottenham, after all, and hanging on the coat-tails of the Champions League spots.
Yet, Leonenko believes that, while Tottenham would still represent a step up career-wise, there is really no limit to how high Zabarnyi should be aiming.
“Real Madrid, Tottenham… Why not?,” asks Leonenko. “He plays well and consistently. The main thing is that he moves to a good club, and I don’t like to guess where.
“Everyone wants to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona, but not everyone can play there. Maybe Zabarnyi will sit in the reserves like [back-up Los Blancos goalkeeper Andriy] Lunin, but I hope he moves to the club where he will play.”
Zabarnyi has shone while Mykhaylo Mudryk struggled at Chelsea
Zabarnyi and fellow Ukrainian Mykhaylo Mudryk have enjoyed very different experiences in English football. Even before Chelsea winger Mudryk was suspended by the FA for a potential doping violation, a player who joined for an initial £62 million from Shakhtar Donetsk was struggling to cope with the scrutiny that followed such an eye-watering price-tag.
Zabarnyi, in contrast, arrived for a much lower, albeit still hefty, fee. Bournemouth, meanwhile, do not command anywhere near the level of media focus as Chelsea do.
“Compare the value of Mudryk and Zabarnyi. Zabarnyi was not overvalued like Mudryk, so it was easier for him [to adapt],” Leonenko concludes. “They immediately expected a bright game from Mykhailo, and rightly so, because [Chelsea] paid 70 million euros for him.”
TBR understands that Zabarnyi is just one of the centre-halves on Spurs’ radar.
Tottenham like Leeds United stopper Pascal Struijk, though a January swoop looks unlikely amid a Championship title charge at Elland Road. David Hancko of Feyenoord is another Ange Postecoglou could pursue.
