Tottenham weighing up move for Atalanta defender Isak Hien

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Atalanta defender Isak Hien in the wake of Cristian Romero’s exit.

Romero is the Lilywhites’ best defender when fully fit and running; however, he has missed a lot of action this season due to a combination of hamstring and quad injuries. The Argentine wants to leave Spurs as he looks to embark on a new challenge, with the North London club having failed to meet his lofty ambitions.

Atletico Madrid and Aston Villa are circling for the 26-year-old’s signature, and should Romero depart, Tottenham have reportedly set their sights on Atalanta’s Isak Hien to replace him.

Hien, 26, moved to Atalanta from Hellas Verona in January 2024 and played a key role in their Europa League triumph last season. He played the full 90 minutes in the Europa League final, helping Gian Piero Gasperini’s side beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Dublin in May. The Swede has grown into a reliable defender in Serie A, and his performances have caught the attention of Spurs ahead of the summer transfer window.

Tottenham want Atalanta defender Isak Hien

The Lilywhites have been defensively all over the place this season. A lot is down to an injury crisis, forcing Ange Postecoglou to rely of makeshift options.

Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies have all spent months on the sidelines, while Radu Dragusin has been ruled out for the rest of the season following an ACL rupture. Also, January signing Kevin Danso is currently nursing a hamstring problem. With Romero linked with an exit and Davies out of contract at the end of the season, a central defender is the club’s topmost priority.

Hien has done well for Atalanta to grab Tottenham’s attention. The Sweden international could be enticed to the prospect of testing himself in the Premier League after proving himself in Serie A. At 26, he is at the right age as well, and while a move to Spurs may not be a step up from Atalanta, it would certainly allow him to rub shoulders with the best players in the Premier League.

At this stage, whether Atalanta would entertain offers for Hien is not known. So, the least Tottenham could do is to keep monitoring the defender until the end of the season before deciding whether to launch a bid for Hien or not.

I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.