Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly battling with Manchester United over a deal to sign Anderlecht star Nathan De Cat, as per a recent German report.
After coming through the Belgian giants’ youth system, the 17-year-old made his first team debut last year before establishing himself as a key starter this campaign.
In 33 appearances across all competitions, the midfielder has netted three goals and registered five assists. He has been in excellent form in recent weeks, making six goal contributions in the last six matches.
Now, as per a recent report (via TEAMtalk), De Cat’s recent eye-catching performances haven’t gone unnoticed as he has started attracting a lot of attention ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.
Man Utd have registered their interest in the youngster and have been monitoring his development closely. Moreover, Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion are also in this race.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have intensified their efforts to sign De Cat after being impressed by him and believe he would be an ‘ideal’ deep-lying playmaker for their system.
The report claim that apart from the Premier League clubs, Bundesliga teams are in this race as well, with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Bayer Leverkusen showing interest.
Battle
Although De Cat’s existing deal is set to run until 2027, Anderlecht have no intention of letting him leave in a cut-price deal and have slapped a £30m price tag on his head.
De Cat is a 6ft 3in tall right-footed box-to-box midfielder. Moreover, he can provide cover in the defensive midfield position if needed. The youngster is composed with possession, technically sound, can dribble past opposition defenders in tight areas, and is also efficient in defensive contributions.
He is a highly talented player and possesses the necessary attributes to flourish in the Premier League. So, he might be a shrewd acquisition for Man Utd or Tottenham should either club purchase him.
However, the Lilywhites have surprisingly found themselves in a relegation scrap and need to keep hold of their top-flight status to sign top-class talents like De Cat in the summer.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the North London club or the Old Trafford club will eventually make a concrete approach to secure his services.
