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Spurs are linked with a transfer bid for a wonderkid with dazzling potential - but will they win the race?
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Spurs have a new manager in place, but Daniel Levy’s work for the summer is far from finished – Thomas Frank’s squad needs fresh strength and depth in equal measure as they prepare to simultaneously attempt to restore their place in the Premier League’s upper echelons and compete in the Champions League.
One transfer, the permanent signing of Bayern Munich winger Mathys Tel, is already in the bag, but Tel isn’t the only talented young wide forward on Spurs’ shopping list, according to reports. The difference is that their bid for Roony Bardghji may well run into stiff competition.
Spurs among contenders in the race for Roony Bardghji
The 19-year-old winger, whose small stature and effortless ball control has earned him the deeply imaginative nickname ‘The Swedish Messi’, made his debut for FC København less than a week after his 16th birthday in 2021 and was quickly hyped up as one of the most promising players in the world – and now he’s almost certainly on the move.
His contract with his Danish side is up in December and København are expected to make use of their last chance to cash in on probably the most talented player to ever have emerged from their youth system, with Bardghji himself supposedly telling the club that he wants to leave.
That’s sparked the interest of a broad range of European clubs, with Spurs, Porto, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille among the names cropping up with regularity – and Manchester United’s name is very much in the mix, too.
United know more about his quality than most English sides, given that he scored the winning goal in a 4-3 victory for København at Old Trafford in the Champions League in November 2023, and have been linked with a bid for the teenager for many months, with TNT Sports among the outlets reporting their interest.
More clubs would probably be interested had Bardghji not been forced to spend nearly a year on the sidelines with injury. A serious ACL issue put him out of action for the vast majority of the 2024/25 campaign, meaning he was able to make just six appearances across the whole season, slowing his progress and perhaps making a number of teams a little more wary of launching a bid.
Still, on Monday TBR Football reported that Spurs are “working on” a deal, with reports elsewhere suggesting that Bardghji’s club world likely accept around £10m given his contract situation – a significant discount on the estimated price tag prior to his injury.
It isn’t believed that Spurs have made a formal offer as yet, with only Porto reported to have done so to date. With so many sides interested to at least some extent, it’s likely that negotiations are dragged out so that both the player and his club can pick up as many offers as possible. The only certainty is that Bardghji will move over the next three months. If Spurs want to sign one of Europe’s most talented wingers, and beat Manchester United and many others to a potential bargain, they need to move now.
Why Roony Bardghji could be the perfect signing for Tottenham
Bardghji could easily offer Spurs the same immensely talented rotational option on the right flank that they now have with Tel down the left – although where Tel is at his best in and around the penalty area, Bardghji is perhaps more comfortable operating slightly deeper and acting as a creator rather than as a destroyer.
The Swede’s low centre of gravity, tight turning circle and sudden burst of pace, combined with his instinctive control and seemingly endless box of tricks make him a nightmare for defenders. He’s sharp, slippery and capable of bursting past an opponent with remarkable ease.
While the comparison with Messi may rather lazy, it’s easy enough to take the point when watching him dribble. It’s the same sudden surge from a low position and the same graceful, fluid movement – but perhaps not backed up by the potential to score 50 goals in a season.
Not that Bardghji is bad in front of goal, as Manchester United discovered to their cost. He has 13 goals in 68 senior matches – only around half of which have been starts – and has a powerful and precise left-footed shot. In the long run, Tel will likely finish his career with more goals, but Bardghji will put plenty to his name over the years.
All of which, of course, is presupposing that his lengthy injury lay-off hasn’t done too much damage. The risk is that the next few years of his career path veers rather closer to that of the unfortunate Ansu Fati than to Messi, but if the price of a ticket is only £10m, it’s a lottery worth entering. Bardghji is blessed with phenomenal talent and the kind of technical skills that no amount of coaching can ever teach.
Spurs will need more than a couple of talented wingers to set themselves back on the right path in the 2025/26 season, but a gradual move towards signing younger players such as Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall could easily pay dividends in the future – and Bardghji has already proven himself to be a match-winner in the Champions League. Signing Bardghji wouldn’t be buying a back-up, but a player who can push Dejan Kulusevski for minutes from day one if he’s fully fit.
Spurs have, of course, often struggled to win transfer battles when other teams are involved, perhaps because of chairman Levy’s habit of pushing negotiations too far in search of the best deal for the club. But if Bardghji blossoms as he looks likely to, then anything close to £10m may end up looking like an extraordinarily good piece of business a little way down the line. Whether they actually follow Porto into making a long-rumoured offer, however, we’ll know very soon.