Tottenham battling Inter in transfer tussle for Belgian defender dubbed 'the next Vincent Kompany'

According to The iPaper, Spurs have been scouting De Winter since the start of 2025 and view him as a potential replacement for Cristian Romero. The Argentinian has been linked with Atletico Madrid, though it is thought the La Liga side have withdrawn from negotiations due to Tottenham's asking price.

Romero and centre-back partner Micky van de Ven had significant injury issues last season and, while the likes of Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin are also options to new boss Thomas Frank, De Winter is being sought to provide greater depth in that area of defence. However, Tottenham will have to compete with Inter for the Genoa star, while West Ham and Bournemouth have also been credited with an interest in the 23-year-old.

De Winter came through the youth ranks at Juventus and made two Champions League appearances during the 2021-22 campaign before being loaned out in successive seasons to Empoli and Genoa. The latter deal has since been made permanent and his development saw him called into the Belgium squad for the first time in March 2024, making four appearances for the Red Devils so far.

Spurs are looking to refresh their squad after a poor Premier League season and are still waiting to see the developments of their proposed transfer for Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. The England international wants to move to north London but the deal has been held up after Forest threatened legal action.