Tottenham Hotspur willing to pay £25 million for Ilya Zabarnyi

Tottenham Hotspur were willing to pay £25 million for Dynamo Kyiv centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi, as per report.

Zabarnyi is a product of the Dynamo Kyiv youth sportive school. He played for FC Dynamo in the Ukrainian Premier League Reserves and in July 2019 he was promoted to the senior squad team. Zabarnyi made his debut in the Ukrainian Premier League for Dynamo Kyiv only on 11 September 2020, playing in a drawn home match against FC Desna Chernihiv.

He is also a Ukraine international and already has 22 caps at international level. The Ukrainian international stood out from crowd when he became the second youngest player to represent his country at 18 years and 36 days. Since then, he has become a regular player for both club and country. As a centre-back capable of playing on either side, he would have been a fine addition to the Spurs’ squad.

Spurs have shown interest in the 20-year-old for some time. In June when the window had just opened, the Dynamo Kyiv centre-back was said to be one of the names on Antonio Conte’s shortlist.

However, the youngster didn’t plan to make such a giant leap so early in his career, he is still a Dynamo player by the deadline of the summer transfer window.

There are four years left on his contract with Dynamo Kyiv. If Dynamo had accepted that £25 million offer, the 20-year-old would have become Spurs’ second big-money teenager of the summer. Tottenham could face a lot more competition for Zabarnyi if they renew their interest in a future window.