Man Utd set to battle Spurs to sign Ivorian defender

Manchester United are set to compete with Tottenham Hotspur in the race to land Bayer Leverkusen defender Odion Kossounou this summer.

The Red Devils are determined to land a new centre-back in the next transfer window with Raphael Varane expected to leave on a free transfer.

Kossounou has been on their radar for the past few weeks and SportBild claim that United are set to battle it out with Spurs for his services.

The Ivorian has developed into a brilliant ball-playing defender during his time at Leverkusen. He has been superb under manager Xabi Alonso.

Leverkusen are not contemplating his sale at the moment, but reports claim that they could be persuaded to sell him for around €50 million.

Apart from Kossounou, United have been touted to land Juventus' Gleison Bremer, who has his sights on moving to the Premier League.

The Brazilian only signed a new deal in December last year, but the Bianconeri are open to selling him in the region of €70m.