Tottenham Hotspur have a lot of up-and-coming quality, but it's up to Thomas Frank to put it into practice after an opening half to the 2025/26 campaign that has left plenty to be desired.
Chelsea are the only team in the Premier League to have a younger average age than their north London neighbours, but ENIC Group appear set on strengthening with further rising stars to create a lasting period of success.
The likes of Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Mathys Tel have big futures ahead of them, but Spurs are eyeing another rising talent who could surpass them all, and it comes as Brennan Johnson inches toward the exit.
Spurs lining up Brennan Johnson replacement
Crystal Palace have agreed with Tottenham a £35m fee for the transfer of Welsh winger Johnson, who has slumped considerably in Frank's system.
The 24-year-old is a talented player who scored the winning goal against Manchester United in the Europa League final last season. Last year, he posted 18 strikes in all competitions for Ange Postecoglou, but he hardly looks like matching that this year, and probably needs to move after falling to the fringes.
While Johnson has fallen flat after that hefty £47.5m arrival from Nottingham Forest in 2023, it's clear that Tottenham cannot sell themselves short throughout the business months of the campaign, and a replacement is needed, with RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande earmarked.
As per TEAMtalk, the 19-year-old winger is open to a Premier League move this winter, and though Spurs are circling, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have all registered interest of their own.
Previous reports suggest that it would cost suitors a staggering £87m sum to prise him away from his German club - but then, he is that good.
How Diomande could improve Spurs
Diomande only joined Leipzig from La Liga side Leganes last summer, but he's taken to life in the Bundesliga with ease, scoring seven goals and supplying four assists across 16 appearances.
He's already showing more of a clinical edge than Johnson, and offering more besides.
Hailed as a "generational talent" by journalist Bence Bocsak, the Ivory Coast international ranks among the top 3% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries, the top 6% for shot-creating actions, the top 11% for tackles and the top 1% for ball recoveries per 90, as per FBref.
A ball recovery is defined by the number of loose balls recovered by a player.
He plays with an intensity and aggression that can only serve him well down the line, establishing him as one of the biggest and most coveted names on the global stage.
Spurs already know a thing or two about plucking an up-and-coming sensation from the German scene, with Tel arriving from Bayern Munich last year.
The versatile forward is still working toward superstardom in the Premier League, but his potential is indisputable, and in Diomande, Spurs could not only repeat the trick but sign an even bigger talent.
Not long ago, coach Harry Brook asserted that he will "be worth £100m plus" down the line. Already, Diomande is nearly there, and Tottenham need to put everything into signing him before things get silly.
After all, they would land an instant Johnson upgrade and another Bundesliga prodigy to rival Tel as the Frenchman cuts his teeth down N17.