Tottenham Hotspur have made a new bid worth £43m to sign an attacking midfielder similar to former target Eberechi Eze.
Tottenham move on from Eze with 2-0 win at Man City
Spurs were dealt a major transfer blow last week when Eze decided to snub a move to Thomas Frank's side in favour of heading to north London rivals Arsenal.
Eze actually phoned Gunners boss Mikel Arteta in order to return to his boyhood side, with Tottenham being forced to look at other attacking targets before the deadline.
However, on the pitch, Spurs put their Eze transfer blow behind them to seal an impressive 2-0 at Manchester City. First-half goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha were enough for Frank’s side to make it two wins from two without conceding a goal.
Talking after the game, Frank was only interested in talking about those that had joined Tottenham.
“I think it’s fair to say that we’ve got a few questions about the transfer market yesterday – a lot about why not, and what if, and all that. What is 100 per cent sure is that we brought two top players into the club, (Mohammed) Kudus and Palhinha. Both of them performed very well, which I’m very pleased with.
“And Palhinha, wow. You know, sometimes players need confidence, and they need to be on top. “I actually don’t think he’s fully fit yet where I want him to be, but very pleased with his performance and he’s definitely helping the team.”
Asked if he had used the Eze situation as inspiration, Frank said: “I think that’s very, very easy – never ever use one word about anything that is not in our club.”
With Spurs not back in action until Saturday 30 August, Daniel Levy and co have plenty of time to make progress with a number of alternative targets, and it looks as if they are getting straight to work with one attacking midfielder.
Tottenham make improved Nico Paz offer
According to Sky Sports reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, Tottenham have made an improved offer for Como’s Nico Paz.
Spurs had an initial €40m (£34.6m) bid turned down, with those in north London now raising their offer to €50m (£43m). Como or Paz are yet to respond to Tottenham’s latest bid, with the Serie A side previously valuing the 20-year-old at €70m (£60m).
Di Marzio adds that Paz remains a top target for Tottenham, with talks continuing. Should the Argentina international sign for Frank’s side, they will be getting a talent called “incredible” by Lionel Messi.