Tottenham are trying to force through the signing of Brazilian left-back Souza having seen an opening offer rejected, though there’s more bad news on the club’s quest to land a lethal new winger.
Tottenham continue to move forwards with Thomas Frank as the boss is being included in transfer planning this week.
At a time when Chelsea and Manchester United have changed their managers, Frank has been coming under pressure from the Spurs fanbase.
However, his immediate future is not in danger, we understand, as part of a patient plan to let him build a squad and shape the side to his liking.
As part of that, the Dane has been influencing their moves in the market as talks take place with targets.
We revealed last month how a left sided defender was a priority and Tottenham have been moving towards Souza from Santos.
Initial conversations last week showed that a move would be complicated after an opening bid worth roughly £8m was rejected.
However, sources have confirmed that Tottenham have not been deterred, are continuing talks, and have been trying hard to force a breakthrough on the deal.
If it does not show signs of changing in the next couple of days, they will move on to other targets in that area, though as mentioned, Tottenham are doing all they can right now to thrust the deal over the line.
Complicating matters is the fact Chelsea (via BlueCo), Manchester City (CityGroup) and Newcastle are all showing varying degrees of interest too.
Regarding cost, my colleague, Graeme Bailey, has been informed Santos are seeking around €20m, which is roughly double the value is Tottenham’s initial bid.
Meanwhile, there’s familiar bad news on Tottenham’s attempts to land a potent new winger.
After giving up on signing Antoine Semenyo despite being prepared to make him their highest paid player, Spurs made new checks on Yan Diomande’s availability.
Unfortunately, RB Leipzig have made it crystal clear Diomande is not attainable in this window. It is possible they now step away from that one, for now.
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Latest Tottenham news – Palhinha developments / New midfielder this week?
Elsewhere, Tottenham are souring on the idea of taking up Joao Palhinha’s £26m option to buy.
That’s put a London rival on red alert and they won’t show the same hesitancy Spurs are if there’s an opening to sign the Portugal international.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are ramping up their efforts to sign a new midfielder THIS WEEK, with manager Thomas Frank identifying a high-energy, driving maestro as the priority signing to inject vitality and legs into the heart of his team.
Finally, we can confirm Tottenham are one of a cluster of Premier League clubs taking a close look at 19-year-old Toulouse defender, Dayann Methalie.