Tottenham Hotspur are being tipped to make up for their failure to secure the signing of Morgan Gibbs-White by making a spectacular £80million swoop for a player who could completely transform Thomas Frank’s attack, with a deal set to be signed off by Daniel Levy.
It looked as if Nottingham Forest skipper Gibbs-White would become a new Spurs player after his £60million release clause was triggered and with the player reported to be keen on the move and a medical booked in.
But after Forest shut down communications and threatened Tottenham and the player’s agent with legal action, the transfer saga ended on Saturday with Gibbs-White doing a U-turn and signing a new, lucrative deal contract at the City Ground.
Frank wanted Gibbs-White to spearhead his midfield three as a creative attacking force, having been a big fan of the player while he was also in charge at Brentford.
However, the £60m set aside to snap up the 25-year-old will not be allocated elsewhere and, if the latest reports are confirmed, then that money could be on its way to Real Madrid.
Tottenham are pushing to beat out Premier League rivals Liverpool and Arsenal to a deal for talented Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who is capable of playing all three spots across Frank’s frontline.
And while Real are demanding around £80m (€92m / $107m) for services, Football.London reports that Spurs have the funds in place to secure a deal that would shatter their previous record of £65m paid for Dominic Solanke last summer.
Rodrygo is not exactly a like-for-like replacement when it comes to filling the Gibbs-White void, but the impact he could have on the Tottenham forward line could be immense – wherever he lines up.
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Rodrygo, Kudus could create carnage for Tottenham
While Rodrygo played the majority of his games for Real on the right wing last season, he is also capable of featuring on the left – which is his more likely position at Spurs.
New £55m arrival Mohammed Kudus has so far figured on the right wing in pre-season, by far his best position and one he struggled to command at West Ham due to Jarrod Bowen’s form and importance to the Hammers.
News of interest in the Brazil international is not good news for club legend Son Heung-min, who has struggled in the two outings he has featured in for Tottenham in pre-season and continues to be linked with a move to LAFC.
Frank also has James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and even Kudus who can fill the No.10 role that was being allocated for Gibbs-White, so all is not lost on that front.
Having Rodrygo and Kudus flanking Solanke, or even a new No.9, would certainly give the north London outfit a more potent attack than they had under Ange Postecoglou last season.
Indeed, it’s been reported that Frank wants another striker on board to provide strong competition for Solanke, who has struggled with a number of niggling injury issues since he joined the club.
Brentford star Yoane Wissa, Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo and Al-Hilal attacker Aleksandar Mitrovic have all been linked with a switch to north London, while rather tenuous report in Sunday even had Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus as a target.
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