Tottenham Hotspur have been named as ‘one of the best-positioned teams’ to sign a top Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder who would deliver an immediate upgrade to Thomas Frank’s weak engine room.
The Spurs boss appears to go from game to game not actually knowing what his best midfield make-up is, constantly chopping and changing the likes of Bayern loanee Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Sarr, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.
Tottenham once again found themselves overpowered and out-worked by Nottingham Forest in the middle of the park during last weekend’s demoralising 3-0 defeat at The City Ground.
It’s not the first time that has happened and it won’t be the last, unless there are significant upgrades brought in either in January or next summer.
And now a fresh report from Spain claims that Spurs are ready to take advantage of a bust-up between Bayern and one of their top stars, Leon Goretzka.
Goretzka’s role with the reigning Bundesliga champions has lessened since the arrival of Vincent Kompany as Bayern boss, with the 30-year-old making just 26 league appearances last season.
While he has started in 11 of his 13 Bundesliga appearances this term, his substitution against Mainz last Sunday was very telling when it comes to a potential January exit.
Goretzka was seen to be visibly upset at being hauled off with 30 minutes to go and his side trailing 2-1, making no attempt to hide his frustration.
The midfielder has since deleted all of the Bayern pictures from his social media, which has been interpreted in Germany as a sign that he wants a ‘clear break’ from the club he has been at since 2018.
As a result of that fallout, dubious Spanish outlet Fichajes states Tottenham are ‘one of the best-positioned teams’ to sign Goretzka, although there are other English sides in the mix, namely Nottingham Forest and West Ham.
There’s no mention over whether the move would be a loan deal or a permanent one, although Transfermarkt currently is Goretzka valued at just €22m (£19m / $26m), given that he is out of contract next summer.
Want more breaking transfer lines from original sources? Add TEAMtalk as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.
What Goretzka would bring to Tottenham
A move to Spurs would actually see the midfielder reunite with Joao Palhinha, with whom he played alongside seven times in Germany for Bayern.
Palhinha is currently on loan at Tottenham and there had been expectation that the club would trigger his buy clause for £27m, when he was a standout performer at the start of the campaign. However, the Portugal international has been on the bench more often of late, so there must surely be doubts over that deal now.
Bringing Goretzka on board, though, would give Frank the box-to-box midfielder that it was hoped Bentancur would be this season, only for the Uruguay star to bitterly disappoint.
The Bayern star is a dynamic player known for driving runs from midfield, late runs into the box and his finishing ability. He also has a wide passing range and is a strong presser, the latter of which is currently missing from the Spurs engine room.
In 286 outings for the Bavarian outfit, Goretzka has scored 46 goals and laid on 48 more, and there is no doubting that he would significantly upgrade the current Tottenham midfield were he to sign.
However, the biggest concern is the source of the article from which the links have come, with Fichajes known to speculate fairly wildly at times. Although Tottenham fans will be hoping there is some truth in a deal that would be a big one for the club.
Latest Tottenham news: Ornstein delivers Semenyo update; Bastoni chase
Trusted source, David Ornstein, has delivered an update on Tottenham’s expectations for the January transfer window and has name-dropped an incredible potential signing who would leave most fans speechless, while another option comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa will weigh up whether to compete with Crystal Palace if Brennan Johnson becomes available in 2026, as TEAMtalk sources deliver the latest news on the future of the Tottenham Hotspur star, who has largely fallen out of favour with Thomas Frank.