Tottenham have been tipped to land a midfielder likened to former Spurs man Mousa Dembele, and Sandro Tonali, in a superb double deal.
Spurs’ ambition to push the upper echelons of the Premier League after coming 17th in the last two seasons is evident. They have already signed defenders Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Jan Paul van Hecke, and midfield moves are developing fast.
TEAMtalk is aware Tottenham want to land two top-quality midfielders, with Mateus Fernandes and Tonali their preferred options.
They have been in talks for both, and per Spurs insider Wenham, they’ll get both – an ideal signing as he has likened him to well-loved former Tottenham man Dembele.
Wenham told Tottenham News: “I think it’s been made clear that Roberto de Zerbi wants both. He wants Tonali as the kind of sitter in the midfield to dictate the play, pick up the ball from the goalkeeper and start our moves.
“And he wants Fernandes as somebody with the ability to sit deep, but also drive forward with the ball. It’s an unusual comparison, but as I’ve started to watch more videos of Mateus Fernandes, the way he moves with the ball is a bit similar to how Mousa Dembele operated for Tottenham.
“Obviously they’re a very different size, physique, aesthetics, I get that, but the way they carry the ball and transition the ball from the deep part of the pitch forward is quite similar to Mousa Dembele’s style at Tottenham.
“You see these stats of five goals, five assists and you kind of think he’s an attacking midfielder, Fernandes, but the more I’ve looked into it and the more videos I’ve watched, I can actually see he starts off very deep in the game and then he brings the ball forward with his ability. I think Tottenham are going to get both.”
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Fernandes green-lights Tottenham move
TEAMtalk is aware that Fernandes has given Spurs the go-ahead to complete a move for him.
Indeed, the midfielder has accepted their proposal on personal terms, giving the club the motivation to get a move confirmed with West Ham.
Sources state they are advancing rapidly to a deal, which would be the most expensive in Tottenham’s history.
That Spurs are willing to pay Fernandes significantly higher wages than rivals Manchester United is part of the reason they are seemingly leading the chase.
They are also willing to spend big on Tonali, for whom they are pushing hard.
Reports suggested Tottenham would be happy to part with £100million, believing that will be enough to see Newcastle accept his departure.