Tottenham Hotspur have supposedly been dealt a blow in their efforts to sign Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, who is thought to favour a move to Monaco.
The former Manchester City youth product has proven himself in the Premier League since joining the Cottagers in 2020, but he is only contracted to Marco Silva's side for another year.
With no extension in sight, Fulham are expected to sanction Adarabioyo's exit for the right price this summer rather than risk losing him on a free transfer in under 12 months' time.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou had apparently earmarked the 25-year-old as an ideal acquisition to bolster his backline, having been put off by Crystal Palace's £60m asking price for Marc Guehi.
However, Monaco are also in the race to prise Adarabioyo away from Fulham, as Les Monegasques make contingency plans in case of Axel Disasi's departure to Manchester United or Newcastle United.
© Reuters
According to Foot Mercato, the Ligue 1 giants have the edge over Tottenham in their pursuit of Adarabioyo, who would rather join Les Monegasques than continue in the Premier League with Spurs.
The report adds that the former England Under-19 international is close to agreeing personal terms with Monaco, having been "seduced" by the club's sporting project.
Monaco are yet to agree a fee with Fulham, though, and while the Monegasques are expected to make a formal bid in the coming days, Tottenham's contract offer remains on the table.
However, it is also unclear if Tottenham are readying a formal approach for the Englishman, who was also on Paris Saint-Germain's radar before the French champions signed Lucas Hernandez and Milan Skriniar.
Despite his contract situation, Fulham will make a significant profit on the €1.65m (£1.4m) they shelled out to bring Adarabioyo to the club from Man City in 2020, prior to which he had enjoyed productive loan spells with West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers.
© Reuters
The defender has since registered three goals and two assists in 107 games for the Cottagers, helping them earn promotion back to the Premier League in 2022 after suffering relegation in his debut campaign.
Adarabioyo had to compete with Tim Ream and Issa Diop for starts in the Fulham backline last season, but he nevertheless contributed one goal from 25 Premier League games to help Silva's men finish in the top half.
Tottenham have already welcomed Manor Solomon, Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison to the club this summer, but Postecoglou is yet to bring in a new centre-back, much to the chagrin of Spurs supporters.
Talks with Wolfsburg over a move for Micky van de Ven are not progressing, although a deal is not completely dead in the water, while Barcelona's Clement Lenglet supposedly remains of interest following his loan spell last season.
The Lilywhites could soon be about to welcome their newest centre-back to the club, though, as a deal to sign Blackburn Rovers' Ashley Phillips is expected to go through soon.
Ben Knapton
