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Tottenham fans can finally exhale. Their worst nightmare is a reality—Eberechi Eze has officially joined bitter rivals Arsenal. It can’t get much worse than this.

If there is a silver lining to the most depressing day for Spurs supporters in recent memory, it is that the death blow came swiftly. But let’s be honest, there are no positives to take from the humiliating debacle. Fans have every right to be apoplectic, and they have every right to direct their contempt toward Daniel Levy and ENIC before the Bournemouth match.

The Tottenham chairman has racked up a laundry list of offenses this summer that will surely be paraded along the High Road on August 30. He sacked Ange Postecoglou just two weeks after winning the Europa League and ending the club’s soul-crushing 17-year trophy drought. He procrastinated before announcing Thomas Frank as his replacement, giving other clubs a two-week head start in the transfer market. He bizarrely declared during in an interview with Gary Neville that he wanted Spurs to win the Premier League, and the Champions League. He was then bullied by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marianakis and failed to finalize the Morgan Gibbs-White deal. He has been unable to sell a single first-team player other than club legend Son Heung-min. And, most damming of all, he committed the unforgivable sin of allowing Arsenal to steal Eberechi Eze from under his nose, rather than triggering the player’s release clause.Â

There will be no shortage of football executives and agents celebrating Daniel Levy’s spectacular summer of failure. His arrogant, small-minded negotiation tactics have now been laid bare for all the world to mock.Â

Respected Sky Sports football reporter Dharmesh Sheth went so far as to call Levy’s actions “outlandish” during an episode of "Last Word On Spurs" following the Eberechi Eze news. We have since learned that not only did the Tottenham chairman refuse to trigger the £68 million release clause, which Arsenal ultimately agreed to pay after it had expired; he attempted to use Richarlison as bait in a convoluted scheme to hijack Yoane Wissa’s move to Newcastle.

But the fall-out from the Eze debacle will ripple far beyond the chairman’s insulated bubble. The consequences will be felt at every level of the club, and beyond.

Outside the Stadium

The facts of the case will only amplify the chorus of enraged fans demanding that Levy step down from football-related activities at Tottenham. While only a small, die-hard contingent chose to join the “Change For Spurs” protest before the Burnley match on opening day, Levy can now expect thousands of supporters to gather outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Bournemouth game. National news outlets will be there to cover the demonstration, and Daniel Levy’s name will be on everyone’s lips.

Within the Dressing Room

How will the fury of the fans affect the morale of the squad? Will it galvanize the team, or cause new captain Cristian Romero to question his decision to sign a long-term contract? How will Thomas Frank respond to losing a crucial target just ten days before the transfer window closes? How will he manage to compete in four competitions without a number ten? Was he even consulted on the negotiations? Would anyone blame him for seeking a more serious project elsewhere in two years? How will Richarlison react to the news that he was involved in the Eze deal? Was he aware that he was part of the negotiations?

At Board Level

Daniel Levy has lost what remained of his credibility with fans, but what about the board of directors? How will Vivienne Lewis react to the public humiliation? Will she or Non-Executive Director Peter Charrington report their concerns to the Lewis Family that Levy’s negotiating tactics single-handedly caused the deal to collapse? How worried are they that other owners and player agents are now unwilling to do business with him? And how will CEO Vinai Venkatesham respond to his new boss being publicly embarrassed by his previous employer?Â

In the Corporate World

Will the board be concerned that Levy’s mismanagement has diminished Tottenham’s reputation to the extent that corporate sponsors will not want to associate their brands with the club? Have his actions caused sponsors to walk away from naming rights deals during the past six year? Is Levy’s failure to secure deals with traditional “selling clubs” proof that, under his leadership, Tottenham is no longer a “big six” club?

Across the Premier League

Has Levy’s hubris priced Tottenham out of the market for other targets now that every club knows Spurs are desperate to sign an attacking midfielder. Did he neglect to pursue other options while wasting weeks on two failed deals? How could he fail to sign a replacement for the injured James Maddison in three weeks, while Arsenal did so in three days? Did he really enlist Fabio Paratici to help Crystal Palace sign Bilal El-Khannouss as Eze’s replacement? Are his negotiation tactics so toxic that Manchester City, Aston Villa or AS Monaco will now summarily reject any offer for Savinho, Morgan Rogers or Maghnes Akliouche?

The optics of losing Eze are worse than Sol Campbell’s defection to Arsenal while he was Spurs’ captain. But this time, Spurs fans can’t even be upset with Arsenal. The Kroenkes approached Eze months ago. The player agreed to terms with his boyhood club. They backed out of the deal and gave Spurs free reign to sign the star midfielder. When Kai Haavertz got injured, they moved quickly to seal the deal, while Daniel Levy was focused on shafting Steve Parish out of a few million quid. Fair play to them. They have taught Tottenham a lesson that will resonate painfully for decades—this is how a big club operates.

Tottenham Hotspur were so close to completing a deal for attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, but, ultimately, Crystal Palace and the England international decided to break Spurs hearts and go with Arsenal, who presented a sweeter offer to the Eagles than Daniel Levy did.

As Spurs scramble for an actual replacement for the injured duo of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski so the No. 10 position is occupied by a valid playmaker in the 2025/26 season, they are also still mulling over other transfers like a new winger or defender - or even a few sales.

The most high-profile players linked with moves away from Tottenham are center midfielder Yves Bissouma and striker Richarlison, and while Bissouma remains someone Spurs want to let go of, the Brazilian international has totally changed his fortunes.

According to a new report from Eduardo Burgos of Diario AS, Richarlison will not be leaving this summer. Thomas Frank did not entertain the idea of offering up the veteran forward as a makeweight in the deal with Crystal Palace for Eberechi Eze. He believes in Richarlson as a part of the squad for the 2025/26 season, with Burgos going so far as to say that Frank views him as "crucial".

Tottenham can't make superfluous transfers

That can be evident through the first two games of the season against PSG and Burnley, too. Richarlison was active and even brilliant against Paris, constantly causing danger with his movement and willingness to get into the box and into scoring positions.

His effort paid off in the Premier League opener, with the 28-year-old grabbing two goals in the 3-0 win, getting himself five shots in total while completing two dribbles. He even worked on the defensive end, too, snagging a cool three clearances.

The transfer rumors surrounding Richarlison have come to a dead stop, and that's because Frank continues to cement his belief in the player. With his acrobatics, raw talent, and Premier League experience, Richarlison is much better than anyone Spurs could realistically sign at striker at this point, and Richarlison is also more valuable to Spurs than what he'd gain in transfer capital elsewhere.

Plus, Tottenham can't just sell Richarlison and sign a more expensive striker in a lateral move. They need to pinch every penny of Daniel Levy and ENIC's they can in order to sign two attacking midfielders, a winger, and potentially a depth signing to bolster the forgotten needs in the squad at other positions.

Tottenham Hotspur are reeling at the playmaker position, and it showed in their blown lead to PSG in the UEFA Supercup Final to kick off the 2025/26 campaign. Spurs won't have James Maddison for the foreseeable future due to a torn ACL, while his emergency replacement, winger Dejan Kulusevski, is also out for a while with a knee injury.

Having missed out on two established Premier League stars in the attacking midfield in Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White, Tottenham are scrambling with less than 10 days left in the summer 2025 transfer window to fill this all-important need in Thomas Frank's squad. After the way Spurs let those two marquee transfers collapse, the fans have absolutely no faith in Daniel Levy or the club's brass to back the incredibly talented tactician Frank - if they had any faith left at all.

Tottenham have been filing through a host of attacking midfield names that are either impossible to sign right now in the window or are simply underwhelming, like Tyler Dibling. However, a name has been floated back in Spurs direction after weeks of the trail going cold, and this one actually makes some sense.

Appearing on Fichajes MARCA, reporter Diego Rico said that Tottenham Hotspur are preparing a transfer bid to Como for attacking midfielder Nico Paz, who additionally has a buy-back clause to Real Madrid for just nine million euros next year.

Tottenham need to take Real Madrid out of the equation

Real Madrid could have signed Paz for a meager eight million euros this summer after his big Serie A breakout in 2024/25 after his six million euro bargain move to the ambitious Como, but Madrid already have enough mouths to feed in the attack and midfield. But of course, Paz is a bargain at that price and if he plays any better, Xabi Alonso could change his mind, even with Franco Mastantuono set to start already as a new teenage phenom in the Spanish capital.

Tottenham need to snag playmaking talent before the clock runs out, and while detractors will state that they want someone proven from the Premier League like Eze or Gibbs-White were, the reality is that those top options no longer exist on the market. And Tottenham have had great luck with signing stars from Serie A and the Bundesliga in the past. Players like Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, and Dejan Kulusevski are key to Tottenham's success but were proven in Italy and not England.

Tottenham Hotspur are reeling after watching North London rivals Arsenal scoop up Crystal Palace star attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, just when everyone thought the 27-year-old was headed to Spurs as their new marquee addition to the summer 2025 transfer window.

Instead, Tottenham are now at risk of exiting August empty-handed at what is now their biggest position of need, and, so far, their only real attacking addition of the summer transfer market has been Mohammed Kudus from West Ham. Kudus is already paying off dividends, but even his brilliance against PSG wasn't enough to overcome the severe lack of central playmaking.

Tottenham are going to have to sign at least one No. 10 - and preferably two - as both veteran stars James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are out until further notice with knee injuries. As Spurs head back to the drawing board, it appears they are going after the one player their fans don't want to see in a starting role.

According to a report from The Independent's Miguel Delaney, Tottenham have made an approach to Southampton regarding the availability of 19-year-old prospect Tyler Dibling. Spurs had been linked to Dibling briefly early in the transfer window, and now he's resurfaced months later as something further down the list than a Plan B following the Eberechi Eze transfer collapse.

Tottenham need proven stars

Tottenham fans are not too pleased with Spurs entertaining the Dibling option, and you only have to read replies to Spurs fan news accounts, like this one with over 100 likes, to see exactly what Spurs fans think about this "bottom of the barrel" candidate in comparison to the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Eze.

Spurs could have had their pick of several competent, established Premier League playmakers or more exciting, ascending prospects with proven track records elsewhere, such as current Manchester City star Rayan Cherki.

Instead, Tottenham have to look at guys like Dibling as their most realistic transfer targets left in August, which is all down to their own poor planning and even worse negotiating. Dibling has clear talent, but he's nowhere near the caliber of player to start as a No. 10 in the Premier League for a side with Champions League aspirations, and he already showed in Southampton's dismal demotion season that he's far from ready.

Dibling scored just 2 goals in 33 Premier League appearances last season, and he didn't even start on Matchday 1 of the Championship for the Saints. There's no way Tottenham should even be wasting resources approaching Dibling as an option right now when they should be committing 100 percent of their time and efforts into the elite attacking midfield or winger options like Savinho, Nico Paz, or Morgan Rogers.

Tottenham Hotspur fans already had a low bar set for expectations from the club, but somehow Daniel Levy managed to limbo underneath the surface of the earth to sneak underneath said bar. The way Spurs blew the Morgan GIbbs-White and Eberechi Eze transfers has been nothing short of remarkable, with the loss of Eze to Arsenal standing as an unforgivable transfer crime in the eyes of a perpetually disappointed fanbase.

Even before James Maddison went down with a torn ACL, Tottenham were already desperate to sign another attacking midfielder, which is why they thought they had a deal planned with GIbbs-White in the first place. But after the No. 10 went down, signing Eze should have been a matter of life and death for Daniel Levy.

The need for a new No. 10 has only increased now, too. Tottenham knew that Dejan Kulusevski would need about another month to get healthy after a knee injury at the end of the 2024/25 season, but, now, it looks like the Spurs midfielder/winger will need even more time to get on the pitch.

According to a report from The Guardian's David Hytner, Kulusevski is now expected to be out until January of next year after undergoing surgery. It's a devastating blow to Tottenham, taking one of their best right wingers and playmakers out of the equation, and it means that Spurs now have no first or emergency-choice No. 10's for the next four to five months of the 2025/26 season.

Tottenham have no playmaking quality

Tottenham have to sign a playmaker now. And because Kulusevski is out until 2025 and for nearly as long as Maddison with every chance of a further prolonged timeline or aggravation, Tottenham absolutely have to listen to Thomas Frank's initial request and sign two No. 10's.

Right now, they have no real playmaking talent of which to speak. That was highlighted strongly by their blown lead against PSG, as their goals were both by the superstar center backs on set pieces. And although they put three past Burnley in a commanding opening display, a lot of the great work was done by Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus individually.

The right playmaker can unlock the rest of this Tottenham attack. Not signing anybody and not having cover for the new guy would be akin to self immolation for Spurs. Tottenham are toast if they don't respond to the latest Kulusevski injury blow with an even more aggressive transfer approach.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters watched in horror as a seemingly settled deal for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze was turned on its head, as Eze instead joined bitter rivals Arsenal to combine with Martin Odegaard.

Whereas Arsenal now have two, potentially three pending Ethan Nwaneri's involvement, top-class No. 10's, Tottenham don't even have one. Their best playmaker, James Maddison, is out for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL.

So now Tottenham are left scrambling to sign a No. 10 after now striking out on at least five different legitimate transfer targets this summer in Rayan Cherki, James McAtee, Morgan Gibbs-White, Xavi Simons, and now Eze.

Next up on the list is anyone's guess, but one player Tottenham have been looking at for a while as an option in the attacking midfield or on the wing is young Monaco standout Maghnes Akliouche, who has been watched around the Premier League this summer.

Tottenham should have went harder for Eberechi Eze

According to a report from Gary Jacob of The Times, Akliouche would not come at any sort of a discount for Tottenham, though, Jacob writes that the price Monaco have set for Akliouche is a cool 60 million pounds, based on what they asked from Inter Milan when the Nerazzurri enquired about the 23-year-old breakout star.

Akliouche bagged 5 goals with 10 assists, 1.6 dribbles completed per game, and even 1.6 tackles per match for the Monegasque in Ligue 1 last season. The versatile French attacker is one of the best young forwards in European football right now, and with his playmaking ability and willingness to defend, he should be even better as a 10 than a right winger.

The thing is, 60 million pounds is a lot of money, and even though Akliouche is a few years younger than Eberechi Eze, there's no way you can look at his numbers and say he is better. Eze is a superior goal-scorer, creator, and dribbler, and unlike Akliouche, he is proven in the Premier League, which seems to be important to Thomas Frank and Tottenham based on their other transfer targets.

Akliouche is a very good footballer with additional upside, and he should be one of the top alternatives to Eze for Tottenham. At this point, beggars can't be choosers. But the fact that Tottenham could end up signing Akliouche for around the same price as what they could have signed Eze for, if they were more proactive, only makes missing out on Eze sting that much more for the Tottenham faithful.

Tottenham Hotspur are, once again, victims of one of the biggest transfer stories of the summer. Not too long after Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest snubbed them to stay with his current club despite a deal apparently being done, Crystal Palace star attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, likewise, stunned Spurs by picking hated rivals Arsenal over them at the last possible second, just when everyone thought he was heading to Spurs to replace an injured James Maddison.

With less than 10 days left in the summer 2025 transfer window, Spurs are now left scrambling to sign a replacement for the FA Cup winner they never signed. Tottenham need an attacking midfielder. Heck, they need more than one of them, because they were already going for the likes of Gibbs-White before Maddison's devastating knee injury even happened.

According to a report from Fabrizio Romano on his YouTube channel, there are three notable names Tottenham Hotspur are currently looking at as transfer alternatives to Eberechi Eze. The first is Southampton youngster Tyler Dibling, the second is Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers, and the third is RB Leipzig superstar Xavi Simons.

Dibling has been linked to Tottenham before, but he's by far the least enticing of the options. Although he's very talented, Dibling hasn't really done anything in the Premier League to prove that he's ready to be a key player for a Champions League level club like Tottenham, and with Maddison injured for a while, Spurs need someone who can reliable start - not someone whose future is only debatably as bright as loanee Mikey Moore's.

Tottenham have one dream target above all the others

Simons is the best of the three players, but he feels like a pipe dream at this point. He's already made it clear that he wants to join Chelsea, which Romano himself reiterates in the report, and Tottenham are so far behind the eight ball with the Bundesliga midifelder that they might as well save themselves from further humilitation and focus their time and resources elsewhere.

That elsewhere could be another very difficult target and yet another proven Premier League star in Morgan Rogers, who was one of the biggest breakout players in the league last season alongside another great attacker Spurs didn't sign, Bryan Mbeumo.

Rogers's hard work, unselfishness, and end product yielded 8 goals, 10 assists, 1.4 key passes per game, 1.8 dribbles completed per match, 1.4 fouls drawn per contest, and 1.2 tackles per appearance as arguably Villa's best player of the season.

Those are numbers Tottenham could certainly do with, and Frank would love a player with Rogers's work rate and well-roundedness. Spurs are said to view him as almost the perfect player to sign and their dream target of all the three playmakers, but Romano notes that those around the transfer market feel that he is just about impossible. But the impossible is what Spurs owe to their fans after the Gibbs-White and Eze sagas.

It has been an eventful 24 hours for Tottenham Hotspur, whose fans went from thinking that they were on the cusp of signing Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze to realizing in shocked horror that the England international would be joining bitter rivals Arsenal instead, following in the footsteps of former Brentford captain Christian Norgaard as the latest Spurs midfield transfer target to spurn Thomas Frank for the other North London powerhouse.

Tottenham were already snubbed by a top Premier League playmaker earlier this transfer window in Mrogan Gibbs-White, who had agreed to join Tottenham but then ended up re-signing with Forest anyway.

According to a report from Gary Jacob in The Times, Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank had actually earmarked a need for the club to sign two No. 10's in the aftermath of the ACL tear to star playmaker James Maddison. One of those players Frank wanted Tottenham to sign at the 10 was, of course, Eberechi Eze, but he also wanted them to grab another player,

Already, Tottenham have missed out on three other playmakers besides Eze. There was Gibbs-White, but there was also Manchester City signing Rayan Cherki and then youngster James McAtee, who recently left Man City for a move to Nottingham Forest to play alongside Gibbs-White.

Tottenham have missed out on more than just Eberechi Eze

That's quite the collection of affordable and easily achievable attacking midfield transfer targets, and yet Tottenham have none of them in their squad. In fact, they don't have a single healthy, proven Premier League playmaker with Maddison done for a while and even Dejan Kulusevski out for another month as he recovers from an injury late in the 2024/25 season.

Frank says that Tottenham need two No. 10's, and he said that before Spurs knew they missed out on Eze. So it isn't just another 10 they have to sign in order to "replace" missing out on Eze. No, they need two playmakers just to help their manager push to compete with the big boys, and as he showed for 60 minutes against defending Champions League winners PSG, he, as a coach, certainly has what it takes tactiaclly to get Spurs to that level.

He doesn't have right personnel, though, and if Tottenham are in any way serious - which, so far, it doesn't look like they are - then they have to listen to him and sign those two playmakers. Surely, the incensed Tottenham fanbase will put additional pressure on Daniel Levy and his goons to make things right.

Tottenham Hotspur are under a microscope now from their own fans, as their royal botch of the Eberechi Eze transfer has threatened to derail their entire 2025/26 season under new manager Thomas Frank if they don't recover promptly.

Spurs went from nearly a guarantee to bag the best playmaker on the Premier League transfer market to watching him swiftly sign with Arsenal, becoming the latest midfielder to snub Spurs for their arch North London rivals.

Tottenham don't have many alternatives left, but they do need to sign another attacking midfielder, especially after James Maddison's severe knee injury. But aside from the playmaker role, Tottenham need more difference-makers elsewhere in the attack, including on the wings after watching club legend Son Heung-min walk into the sunset - and into Los Angeles.

Manchester CIty star Savinho has been right there with Eze as a must-sign target for Tottenham, and there have been fears from supporters that Daniel Levy isn't exactly serious about paying up for Savinho either. There's a sense that Spurs are waffling on Savinho, too, afraid to actually spend and do what it takes to convince an elite club to part ways with a talent who is pretty close to that elite level, too.

Tottenham are upping their offer for top target

But in a twist, Cane Mota of top Brazilian outlet Ge Globo Esporte reports that Tottenham have increased their transfer bid to 80 million euros, which is finally up to par with the asking price Manchester City have been setting for Savinho. Previously, Tottenham were consistently coming well short of that, thinking falsely that Man City would accept a measly 50 million euros for a top 21-year-old left-footed right winger they just signed last summer.

Ge Globo's latest information puts Tottenham squarely in position to sign Savinho when, just a few hours prior to their report, it looked like Tottenham were still nowhere near the valuation Manchester City had placed on the former Girona star.

Tottenham already signed a great ascending winger from the Premier League in West Ham's Mohammed Kudus, and he's been Spurs best game-changer through the first two matches against Burnley and even PSG.

Savinho with Richarlison and Kudus in the attack would be quite the explosive trident. Tottenham's offer of 80 million euros for Savinho would represent a serious step in the right direction and the appropriate response to flubbing the Eze deal badly and somehow losing even more goodwill with a fanbase that already knew to expect nothing from Spurs anyway.

Tottenham Hotspur fans are in a rightful rate over the way their beloved club botched the signing of local star attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, who will join bitter rivals Arsenal instead after the Gunners made an astute last-second swoop to leave the stingy Daniel Levy with his pockets full and his bald head dripping with rotten egg.

Eze was supposed to be a slam dunk to join Tottenham, replacing an injured James Maddison as the new architect of the attack with Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, and potentially even Savinho working with him up front.

Instead, Tottenham are back to the drawing board, and while they figure out which playmaker to sign after already missing out on so many good ones like Rayan Cherki, James McAtee, and Morgan Gibbs-White, they also can't lose out on another top player from Manchester City in Savinho.

The other priority attacking target in the Premier League for Tottenham, Savinho has been the subject of plenty of transfer misinformation. Now, the Manchester Evening News's Simon Bajkowski has made an important clarification to the transfer rumors that Savinho isn't available for Spurs to sign this summer.

Tottenham fans won't buy any excuses

Manchester City are willing to sell Savinho. In fact, they are willing to sell just about any player in the squad, and Savinho isn't some special case where Man City are no longer willing to listen to an offer. The crux of the issue is that Man City are only willing to sell star players like him for the right offer.

Simply put, that means Tottenham haven't submitted the right offer. They can leak false information to reporters around the world and say that Manchester City are making it too difficult, bring up Rodrygo Goes, or do any number of things, like with the Eze deal, to try and soften their image.

But no true Tottenham fan is going to buy it. Regardless of Rodrygo's status as a replacement, Manchester City can and will sell Savinho if Tottenham spend enough money to sign him, because Man City can reinvest that money in a replacement. But they can't justify selling a great player if they don't get a serious offer, especially since that hamstrings their ability to sign the replacement.

Tottenham need to get serious. If they want to sign Savinho - and they really should - then he's available for the taking. They just need to pay enough money to do it.