Tottenham Hotspur are keen to bring Swansea City central defender Alfie Mawson to the club this summer but the Welsh side want £30 million for him, according to The Telegraph.
Spurs have a solid defensive base due to the presence of star Belgian duo Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, while Eric Dier can also be used at the back or in midfield.
With Mauricio Pochettino playing a three-man defence on plenty of occasions last season and the system helping to fire the club to second in the Premier League, an extra centre-half would certainly be welcome in the Tottenham ranks this summer to add strength in depth.
Mawson has impressed since moving from Barnsley to Swansea last summer, with the 23-year-old starting 27 Premier League games in 2016-17.
His presence helped offset the departure of Ashley Williams to Everton and the defender played an important role in the Liberty Stadium side maintaining their top-flight status.
The report suggests that Tottenham have already made an offer for Mawson, which has been rejected by Paul Clement’s men and that the North London side will return with a second bid.
However, a fee in the region of £30 million, which is supposedly wanted by Swansea, seems excessive despite the centre-half’s potential.
It also states that Spurs may look to convince the Swans to part company with Mawson by offering Josh Onomah on a loan basis as part of the deal to lower the fee for the defender.
The young attacker is regarded as one of the brightest youngsters coming through the ranks at Tottenham but the presence of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min in attacking midfield means that his chances of playing regularly are slim.
A loan move to Swansea could well be an ideal scenario for Spurs, with the skilful starlet potentially returning to the club in 12 months time as a more-rounded player.
It is seemingly now down to Daniel Levy to negotiate a deal for Mawson but the figures being mentioned seem excessive given the defender’s solitary season in the Premier League.
Tottenham have dealt with Swansea in the recent past, with Gylfi Sigurdsson, Ben Davies, Michel Vorm and Tom Carroll moving between the clubs.