Tottenham Hotspur supporters thought their beloved club had made an uncharacteristically ambitious double swoop for not only West Ham star Mohammed Kudus on the wings, but also Nottingham Forest standout Morgan Gibbs-White through the middle as a combination option with established star James Maddison.
However, the deal for Gibbs-White, who allegedly had a hidden 60 million euro release clause, immediately reached a friction point with Forest even threatening legal action over the transfer. In the end, the 25-year-old England international elected to re-sign with Nottingham Forest instead of pursuing and pushing for a move to Tottenham, so, in that sense, it's been a feeling of "good riddance anyway" from Spurs supporters despite the initial frustration.
The falling apart of the 60 million pound Gibbs-White transfer means that Tottenham still have money to burn and still have a need for another attacking game-changer. Kudus as the only new addition from a 2024/25 squad that finished 17th in the Premier League is simply insufficient.
Tottenham need to challenge Inter Milan
One name Tottenham have been loosely linked to and could circle back to is Ademola Lookman, who remains available on the transfer market despite intense pursuit from Serie A title contenders Inter Milan. In his latest transfer news update on the Lookman situation, Fabrizio Romano reported that La Dea are still holding out for their 50 million euro asking price for the Nigerian superstar. Per Romano, Atalanta have rejected Inter's latest proposal of 42 million euros plus an additional three million in add-ons.
That actually represents a slight increase from the 40 million euros that the Nerazzurri were holding onto. Lookman is a little older than Gibbs-White at 27, and he isn't proven in the Premier League like MGW after flopping at Everton. But that was a different version of Lookman, who was arguably the best forward in the Italian top flight last season alongside Inter's own star striker Lautaro Martinez.
With Maddison as the No. 10, Tottenham have more of a need for a goal-scorer who can play on the left wing or up top, which is exactly the profile Lookman, who scored 15 goals with 5 assists in Serie A last season, brings to the table. Since Tottenham are shopping Son Heung-min to MLS clubs, Lookman could be a tailor-made replacement who will cost at least 10 million euros less than Gibbs-White would have.
Tottenham have mostly been looking at options in the Premier League this summer like Bryan Mbeumo, Eberechi Eze, Yoane Wissa, Kudus, and Gibbs-White, but all you have to do is look at players like Son Heung-min, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mathys Tel, and Dejan Kulusevski to remember that, often times, the best deals are outside England.