Tottenham Hotspur are trying hard to sign a new midfielder to bolster a unit that is well behind their peers in the never-ending competition to secure Champions League football in the Premier League, and, now, Spurs are increasingly running the risk of ending up empty-handed in the middle of the park.
Ideally, Tottenham would sign a box-to-box player and a holding midfielder, with one player being on the younger side and the other older. Furthermore, Spurs also need to sign one player who is more of a creator and the other who is more of a defensive presence.
Although Tottenham have already pushed to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest, the 25-year-old English attacking midfielder is not a signed, sealed, and delivered transfer for Spurs. So Tottenham need to look for an alternative, and, in this case, that alternative, Xavi Simons, could also be a stand-alone signing in conjunction with Gibbs-White as a more attacking profile of a No. 8 to offer a completely different dynamic to the Tottenham midfield.
Chelsea are cruising ahead
The problem is that Tottenham may already be implicitly out of the transfer battle for Simons. In his latest transfer update, Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg reports that Tottenham rivals Chelsea have continued transfer talks with Xavi Simons on Tuesday with the goal being to reach a "verbal agreement" with the world-class 22-year-old RB Leipzig star.
Chelsea have been pushing harder than anyone else to sign Simons, with rivals Arsenal and even Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich falling to the wayside. Tottenham? They aren't even mentioned anywhere in Plettenberg's latest transfer report, indicating that they are no longer even in the picture to sign Simons, who is increasingly tied to Chelsea.
Tottenham have other transfer targets in the midfield, mostly more defensive options like Joao Palhinha of Bundesliga fame for Bayern Munich. A former Premier League star for Fulham, Palhinha is 30 years old and far from the most exciting option Spurs could sign in midfield, but with Adam Wharton implausible at this juncture, he might be one of the best options Spurs will get with Anton Stach, Richard Rios, and others already signing.
Staying in the Bundesliga, Tottenham could make a swoop for Stuttgart's underrated Angelo Stiller if Die Schwaben are open to listening to offers, but, in the case of Simons, this ship is already sailing. Tottenham have been slow to the punch, again, in the middle of the park, and Spurs supporters will hope it doesn't end up costing them this season.