Tottenham Hotspur have done a strong job of fortifying their attack this summer transfer window in order to improve from a ghastly 17th-placed finish in the Premier League last season. In addition to securing the entirely obvious permanent signing of high-upside left winger Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich, they inked Mohammed Kudus from West Ham in a 55 million pound deal and are closing in on officially securing Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest for about 60 million pounds.
Next up for Tottenham is rebuilding the rest of the squad, and their biggest weakness last season wasn't actually the attack. While they did certainly have room to improve up front, Spurs had a porous midfield that struggled to defend in transitions or control the ball - and not all of those struggles can be pinned on Ange Postecoglou's style of play tactically.
Tottenham need multiple holding midfielders with mixed profiles who can defend, keep possession, progress play, get into the mix physically, and, generally, stabilize a team that was too often left chasing its own tail, especially against much stronger and well-organized opponents like Liverpool.
If Spurs want to sign two players, they need to bag an underrated option in addition to a marquee candidate like, say, Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, who appears to be both the fans' and Thomas Frank's preferred signing.
Tottenham could sign a big back-to-back summer breakout star
Palmeiras star Richard Rios was a breakout player at this year's Club World Cup - even above Chelsea-bound teammate Estevao Willian on the wing - just as he was in 2024 at Copa America for Colombia.
Linked to a host of other clubs around Europe, Rios was apparently close to going to Roma, but it appears the Giallorossi have pulled out of the race out of frustration. According to a report from top Italian transfer insider Gianluca Di Marzio, Roma became so "annoyed" with Palmeiras rejecting their transfer offers and sending counter proposals that they actually accelerated their interest in an alternative midfield target, agreeing to terms on a 25 million euro transfer with Lens star Neil El Aynaoui.
This move doesn't 100 percent rule Roma out of a Rios transfer, but it makes it so unlikely at this point that it effectively clears the path for Tottenham to swoop in. And, ironically enough, Spurs could sign him for cheaper than the 30 million euros Palmeiras insisted from Roma, in part because there will be one less major competitor with Roma out of the picture but also because Roma's rejection could force Palemiras to readjust their asking price.
As it stands, a price below 30 million euros would already be a great deal for a Tottenham side used to spending double on transfer markets this summer. Rios is too unproven in Europe to be worth too much more, but since he has stood out at international competitions with world-class players on other teams, Rios has proven he has the tactical and athletic traits to succeed as a 25-year-old defensive midfielder in the Premier League. He's one to watch.