Tottenham Hotspur face a race against time if they are to beat North London rivals Arsenal to the signing of Christian Norgaard.
The Brentford midfielder could be reuniting with former boss Thomas Frank at Spurs, but the Gunners are also in the market for a defensive midfielder.
Mikel Arteta is looking to replace Jorginho, who departed for Flamengo, and potentially Thomas Partey whose future at the club is still uncertain.
The Gunners are closing in on Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, but Arteta wants to add more depth to his midfield options.
Gunners make opening move for Norgaard
Tottenham will need to act quickly if they want to secure Norgaard’s signature with The Athletic reporting Arsenal have already made a bid.
The Athletic believe the bid to be worth £9.3million, and they are now awaiting Brentford’s response to the offer.
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Frank knows Norgaard extremely well from Brentford and beforehand having managed him at Brondby and in the Danish youth set up.
Spurs need more leadership within their playing squad and Norgaard would provide that and he knows the demands and playing style of a Frank team inside out.
Frank is currently chasing Arsenal in all departments, with the Gunners currently superior all over the pitch.
Mikel Arteta is currently unbeaten in his last six North London derbies stretching back to 2022.
Future in Norgaard’s own hands
Whilst Zubimendi would add to Arsenal’s creativity from deep, Noorgaard’s leadership qualities and physical attributes would be a perfect fit to replace Jorginho and Partey without draining their transfer budget.
Arteta needs the bulk of his spend this summer to be on a striker who can fire the Gunners to the Premier League title.
Noorgaard would likely play a more pivotal role at Spurs, but even there the Dane wouldn’t be guaranteed a starting position with Yves Bissouma, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur all vying for the same position.
The decision will rest with Norgaard, but Arsenal currently have the advantage having made their opening gambit.
For Brentford, this summer couldn’t be going much worse for them so far.
Bryan Mbeumo may be another playing leaving the Bees to reunite with Frank, and the club still haven’t announced their new manager with reports suggesting set-piece coach Keith Andrews could make the step up.
Already a risky appointment if it goes ahead, it could be even riskier if the experience of Norgaard leaves the dressing room and the goals of Mbeumo depart, as expected.