Hotspur HQ

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.

Tottenham Hotspur may have won the Europa League last season, but having finished in 17th to Arsenal's 2nd, Spurs still have a lot to prove in order to call North London "white". And now that they've lost out on two relatively simple transfer targets in midfielders Christian Norgaard and Eberechi Eze directly to last -minute Arsenal transfer swoops, "embarrassing" doesn't even begin to describe the situation for Tottenham.

Spurs have only signed one top player to join their attack this summer in Mohammed Kudus, and he's already paid immediate dividends by being the team's best player through the first two games of the season against Burnley and PSG. But Spurs still need more help after finishing a mere 17th in the league last season, and their attacking problems were put on full display in front of the whole world in Udine against Paris.

Clearly, Tottenham need playmaking help and still need to be after a top No. 10 after losing out on Eze to Arsenal, but their next important move on the transfer market needs to be securing the other big star in the Premier League whom they've been going after alongside Eze, Manchester City winger Savinho.

The Brazilian international is available for transfer, and regardless of what anyone tells you, it is entirely possible for Spurs to sign Savinho if they submit the right transfer offer. That's the key right there. Tottenham actually have to try and get Savinho by submitting a competitive offer that fits what you'd expect for one of the best wingers in the world.

Tottenham need real stars

Tottenham can and should sign underrated players to fortify their squad, including in the attacking midfielder after the Eze decision. That's obvious. But they also need to start making splashes and prove they can compete with the Champions League contenders - one of which Spurs need to try to become soon.

Spurs missed out on Eze because they were too cheap to pony up for his release clause and then too cheap to slightly outbid Arsenal. They show no urgency on the transfer market, and now they need this Eze snub to at least kick them in the pants enough to drive a real deal for Savinho.

If Tottenham don't do that, they deserve even more of a pounding from their fanbase, which has been let down far too often by a machine of incompetence at the top that seems more bent on saving a few extra pennies in their brimming coffers than rather stacking real chips in a trophy cabinet that has more cobwebs and tumbleweed than silverware.

Tottenham Hotspur were seemingly a slam dunk to sign Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, but they completely flubbed their most important August transfer with less than two weeks left in the window. Instead of signing the English attacking midfielder to a 68 million pound deal per his release clause, Spurs waited to get him for a few million cheaper than that.

Instead, they ended up with nothing, as Eze joined North London rivals Arsenal, who stayed quietly lying in wait for Spurs to botch this one. And as with one of Thomas Frank's star pupils at Brentford, Christian Norgaard, Arsenal submitted a more competitive offer, watched Spurs do nothing to stop them, and signed a player whom the Tottenham manager was hoping to have at his disposal.

Tottenham have been doing this time and time again in their history, but this summer transfer window has been particularly disappointing with how badly they botched deals for Bryan Mbeumo, Morgan Gibbs-White, James McAtee, Rayan Cherki, Norgaard, and Eze. All six were achievable upgrades for Tottenham, but Spurs simply didn't show the urgency their rival clubs did,

Now, Tottenham seem to be on the verge of disappointing their fanbase again for a player who has now trumped Eze as the most important signing of the summer to make in Manchester City winger Savinho, who is even more of a "must" in the aftermath of the lost Eze battle.

Tottenham are being cheap again

But per a report from Gary Jacobs of The Times, the issue with Savinho and the reason why Tottenham haven't come remotely close to signing him this summer is simply because Spurs don't want to match Man City's asking price of 67 million pounds.

Manchester City are, contrary to what some Spurs informants want you to think, willing to sell Savinho. That much is clear. But they want 67 million pounds for him. They believe the 21-year-old, who was once a La Liga Player of the Season candidate, is worth a fair sum of money as an ascending and explosive player who is legitimately one of the world's best in that position.

Tottenham are ridiculously cheap and only like signing players at some arbitrary price they define as fair, not caring that consistently missing out on top targets who are valued by elite clubs is what is holding them back from being a Premier League title contender themselves.

If Tottenham screw up the Savinho deal by being too cheap, which seems likely based on this latest report, then they will hear endless fury throughout the 2025/26 season from the Tottenham supporters. Thomas Frank deserves better than this.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters spent the entire weekend getting their hopes up that one of the best attacking players would soon be joining their squad to fill a gaping hole left by star man James Maddison, who just suffered a devastating ACL tear that left Spurs even thinner in an important area of need.

Eberechi Eze, worse yet, didn't just curve Tottenham at the last sefcond, but he also curved Spurs for their biggest rivals, Arsenal FC. With Eze bound to the other big club in North London, Tottenham have been left in a lurch, and Spurs supporters are tired of hearing members of the media give Daniel Levy excuses for him.

The details are plain and simple, and the real story of what happened can easily be interpreted by anyone with common sense. According to the most reliable transfer reporter in the world, Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal submitted a total package transfer offer of 60 million pounds to Crystal Palace for Eberechi Eze. Although that financial deal is similar to what Tottenham submitted, the difference, per Fab, is that the Gunners put in easier add-ons and faster payment deals to beat Spurs to the punch.

Arsenal are simply more competent than Tottenham

Basically, all Arsenal did is what any reasonable, competent top club would do. They sweetened the deal and made things more convenient for the selling club, enticing Palace to pick them over Spurs. Eze is from London and has no dog in the fight of which team he'll play for. He loves both. Maybe he prefers Arsenal over some childhood affinity, but he was just as ready to sign for Spurs; it's just that they didn't sign his release clause, waited to sign him, and then didn't give his parent club the best offer. It's really that simple.

Tottenham could have offered a little more money than Arsenal. They could have activated Eze's release clause last week knowing that Arsenal were still lurking in the mix despite not seeming like outright favorites. They could have offered more add-ons, easier add-on activations, or done any of the things that Arsenal did to make the deal more enticing.

Instead, they didn't do any of those easy things. Instead, they let Arsenal have the opportunity to come in and make the move when they could have - and should have - closed this deal before the Gunners could have made their move. Tottenham only have themselves to blame, and Fab's information on the final deal that took Eze to Arsenal should only make Spurs fans that much angirer at Daniel Levy and the club's brass for screwing this all up.

"Every time I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be an oncoming train."

It may look like a Kai Havertz injury has dashed the dreams of many Tottenham supporters, who craved Eberechi Eze in Lilywhite. But no, this debacle cannot merely be attributed to Arsenal acting ruthlessly in the face of a potentially significant setback.

The Tottenham hierarchy only have themselves to blame. This is a humiliation too far for Daniel Levy.

Daniel Levy's dallying allows Arsenal to swoop for Eze

Look, I'm very much aware that a whole lot more goes into transfer dealings than what the average Joe is exposed to. The vast majority of us see these sagas play out via the tiresome medium of social media, and, in truth, we probably have little grasp of the complexity.

However, in one fell swoop, Arsenal have made a mockery of the Spurs chairman. The club's desperate need for a No. 10 has been made clear for weeks. I was pretty sympathetic over the Morgan Gibbs-White situation, but the absence of urgency in the aftermath was nothing short of infuriating.

It was a similar story after James Maddison succumbed to an ACL tear. Two weeks have passed since we learned the diagnosis, and yet Thomas Frank still doesn't have a recognised (fit) central playmaker.

Eze was "the one". The maverick befitting of the mould. The Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles, David Ginola, Dimitar Berbatov type. A player capable of capturing the imagination through sheer technical mastery, and someone who could've emerged as the next poster boy in the wake of Son Heung-min's departure.

We were so close, with talks advancing to a level that surely no negotiation has ever reached. Levy and Steve Parish must've eventually discussed neuroscience. The meaning of life, perhaps?

And I'm not saying there weren't other factors at play as to why a deal wasn't wrapped up until it was too late, when Eze learned of Arsenal's re-emergence. This was a one-horse race, yet Spurs have somehow failed to land their man. Haggling over details has cost Frank a masterful creator, and the star we've long desired.

Simply put, this is not how a club of the aspirations Levy so proudly proclaims operates. The chairman has done plenty good for Tottenham Hotspur, I do believe that, and I also think some of the slander towards him is misguided. However, the fury here is absolutely justified. We've been shown up by our bitterest rivals, and they certainly won't let us forget it. There may be more nuance to it, but this will always be remembered as a Levy failing.

The major question is... what now for Frank's Spurs? We still need two through the door. The proposed deal for Savinho is refusing to get off the ground, and Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche is reportedly regarded as an alternative for the Brazilian. A move for the Frenchman certainly makes more sense now.

There's been interest in Nico Paz, and a move for the Spaniard will help ease the pain, as would a surprise swoop for the surely Chelsea bound Xavi Simons.

However, after this mess, the trust in the hierarchy is at its lowest for some time. How can you trust them to avoid panic and get it right now?

There's still time to complete a rescue act, but the clock is ticking.

Just when it seemed like Tottenham Hotspur were all but guaranteed to close the signing of London star Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, North London rivals Arsenal have stole in and signed the attacking midfielder, even though Eze had been expressing a desire to move to Tottenham.

There were even indications that Spurs had agreed to a deal with Palace verbally after already agreeing to terms with Eze himself. That's all thrown out the window now, as Arsenal are the ones who will bring Eze in, circling back to the Premier League playmaker just when everyone thought they had pulled out of the deal in order to give Ethan Nwaneri more minutes as the No. 10 backup to captain Martin Odegaard.

Instead, Arsenal now boast the best two-headed playmaking group in the Premier League, while Spurs are left holding the bag. Arsenal move so well in silence on the transfer market and are especially good at makings Spurs look terrible, as they did the same thing with former Brentford captain Christian Norgaard, swopping in and signing the defensive midfielder just before Tottenham could secure a seemingly slam-dunk transfer.

The more news that comes out about just how badly Tottenham botched this Eze deal, the worse it makes the club look. And what's most baffling about it all is that, behind the scenes, it seems like Tottenham are totally cool with what just happened.

Tottenham are full of themselves

According to a report from the Telegraph's Matt Law, Tottenham, whlie being disappointed, feel as though they did everything they could to sign Eze. Yet per Law's version of events, the way things shook out is that Tottenham agreed to terms with Palace, they couldn't finalize the move because Eze wanted to play, and Arsenal matched the deal and signed him instead becaue Eze chose them over Spurs.

Law's version of events sounds a lot like Tottenham's version of events. It sounds like Tottenham wants us to think they tried all that they could for Eze, but Eze, like Morgan Gibbs-White, chose against them in the end and wanted to play for someone else.

Well, it's hard to believe that Tottenham had agreed to a deal with Palace that fell through because it wasn't finalized over an event everyone knew - that Eze was going to play in the Conference League qualifiers.

It seems more likely that Arsenal simply gave Crystal Palace a better deal, Palace gave Tottenham the chance to match, Daniel Levy being the incredibly cheap chairman that is didn't make a minmally more competitive offer, and thus Eze is off to the rivals. Levy gets to play the hero and point to Eze as the villain, yet Eze had already OK'd a move to Tottenham, knowing full well that Arsenal were still a possibility despite not being favorites.

All of this reeks of what the kids these days call "copium", and Levy has been huffing a lot of that lately while doing absolutely nothing to materially help Tottenham Hotspur. Yet he did everything he could to sign Eze. Nonsense. Anyone who believes what Spurs are selling simply has to explain this away: If Spurs really wanted Eze, why didn't they just pay the release clause last week? Exactly. You can't tell me watching Eze go to Arsenal is worth saving eight million pounds, unless eight million pounds means more to you than, you know, not being a complete laughinstock to your biggest rival year after year.