Danish defender set to move to Spurs

Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini has confirmed that the club has accepted a bid for both Simon Kjaer and Edinson Cavani. Danish defender Kjaer had been linked regularly with a move to Old Trafford and United scouts have attended Palermo games to assess one of Europe’s hottest talents, but did not choose to follow up on their interest.

“Tottenham have bid €35m, an offer we cannot refuse, seeing as the two players have both said they want to leave,” Zamparini told Sky Italia television.

Danish international defender Kjaer is hot property and was also linked with Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and Manchester United.

Uruguayan striker Cavani had been close to Inter, who seem to have toned down their interest, while Manchester City made an offer.

“We will reinvest the money for these players,” assured Zamparini. “The midfield is my biggest concern, whereas in defence and attack we are fairly covered.”

Kjaer has had a World Cup of mixed fortunes. A precise raking cross eventually led to a Denmark goal, which highlighted the fact that a centre back, who doesn’t just hoof the ball up-field, is a rare and useful commodity, but he was found wanting defensively on several occasions.

He tended to be on the wrong side of the player he was marking and wasn’t as determined to win duels as you would hope from a central defender. He’s a strong, pacy lad who can read the game well, but is prone to concentration lapses and just doesn’t look like he could reach the levels of Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic.

To be fair, he has other attributes that make him a very good prospect, so it will be interesting to see how he developes and whether our scouts got it right by advising Sir Alex to move for Chris Smalling instead.