Arnaud Kalimuendo is the latest player to be linked with a transfer to Tottenham. After a quiet start to the summer window in terms of incomings, Spurs made a big move on Sunday as they confirmed the permanent addition of Mathys Tel.
The 20-year-old has penned a six-year deal in north London after his initial loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the remainder of last campaign. Tel could make a big impact under new head coach Thomas Frank and the Dane will be hoping that a few more arrivals are finalised ahead of the club's tour of Hong Kong and South Korea.
Tel's signing adds to the final third options at Frank's disposal and there may well be a bit more movement in that area of the pitch over the coming weeks. As things stand right now, there are question marks over what the future holds for Son Heung-min, Richarlison and Manor Solomon.
Tottenham will definitely need to look at bringing in a new striker if Richarlison is to move on after three difficult years in the capital. That is where Kalimuendo comes in.
The Rennes ace finished as the third-highest goalscorer in Ligue 1 last term after netting 17 times in 33 games. Kalimuendo has seen his numbers grow season on season at Rennes after scoring seven goals in the 2022/23 campaign and 10 in 2023-24.
Coming through Paris Saint-Germain's system and later spending two seasons on loan at Lens before his permanent move to Rennes, Kalimuendo could be in line to depart Roazhon Park this summer after his goalscoring heroics. Speaking in a recent interview with L'Equipe, Rennes president Arnaud Pouille stated: "He is one of the players who had a lot of contacts in January. We have authorised him to speak with other clubs."
A reported €30 million (£26million) fee has been mentioned, with Newcastle United and Bayer Leverkusen linked with the France Under-21s international recently. The two clubs may now be involved in a three-way battle for the striker as French publication L'Equipe claim that Tottenham are expected to step up their pursuit of the 23-year-old.
If Spurs are to indeed launch a move for the Suresnes-born player then they have three secret weapons to help get a deal over the line. Firstly, Kalimuendo is a former teammate of Djed Spence at Rennes.
Amid his struggles for regular first-team football at Tottenham under Antonio Conte, the right-back headed to Rennes on loan for the remainder of the season in January 2023. Spence played 10 games for Rennes during his loan spell, with Kalimuendo playing in all of the matches he featured in.
Two other Tottenham players who could potentially help convince the frontman to head to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are Tel and Wilson Odobert. The duo have played at international level together, most notably at Under-21s level.
Back in March, the trio were all involved as France Under-21s won 4-0 away at Slovakia. Tel and Kalimuendo were paired up front and they ran riot as they scored a brace apiece in the convincing win.
The latter also got an assist to his name as he teed up the Tottenham man for his second of the game in the 23rd minute. If Tottenham move for Kalimuendo and they are successful, Tel and the Rennes star already appear to have a bond on the pitch that could work wonders for Frank and his new team going forward.