Football365

Every Premier League club has broken their transfer record at least once since Manchester United last did. Declan Rice is fighting against the Arsenal tide.

Arsenal

Mesut Ozil – £42.5m (Real Madrid, September 2013)

Alexandre Lacazette – £46.5m (Lyon, July 2017)

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – £55.5m (Borussia Dortmund, January 2018)

Nicolas Pepe – £72m (Lille, August 2019)

Declan Rice – £100m plus £5m add-0ns (West Ham, July 2023)

Three of those players subsequently had their contracts terminated early, while Lacazette was at least allowed to see out his Arsenal deal before leaving on a free transfer when it expired. All the best, Dec.

Aston Villa

Darren Bent – £18m (Sunderland, January 2011)

Wesley Moraes – £22m (Club Brugge, June 2019)

Ollie Watkins – £28m, rising to £33m (Brentford, September 2020)

Emi Buendia – £30m, rising to £38m (Norwich, June 2021)

Moussa Diaby – £43.2m, rising to £51.9m (Bayer Leverkusen, July 2023)

Add-ons make things a little murky – Watkins has surely achieved his while Buendia has not – but the total value of the package to bring in Diaby was in a different market to where Villa usually deal and Champions League money has not quite changed that yet because of pesky PSR rules.

Bournemouth

Tyrone Mings – £8m (Ipswich, June 2015)

Benik Afobe – £10m (Wolves, January 2016)

Jordon Ibe – £15m (Liverpool, July 2016)

Nathan Ake – £20m (Chelsea, June 2017)

Jefferson Lerma – £25m (Levante, August 2018)

That is a neat snapshot of Bournemouth’s entire existence as a Premier League-adjacent entity, including that period during which they seemed wholly determined to feed the myth of Michael Edwards.

Brentford

Kristoffer Ajer – £13.5m (Celtic, July 2021)

Keane Lewis-Potter – £16m, rising to £20m (Hull, July 2022)

Kevin Schade – £22m (Freiburg, July 2023)

Nathan Collins – £23m (Wolves, July 2023)

Igor Thiago – £30m (Club Brugge, February 2024)

The previous two record signings bumped off this Brentford list by more recent deals were Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney; the hope is that Igor Thiago can have anything close to their success.

Brighton

Jose Izquierdo – £13.5m (Club Brugge, August 2017)

Jurgen Locadia – £14m (PSV, January 2018)

Alireza Jahanbakhsh – £17m (AZ Alkmaar, July 2018)

Adam Webster – £20m (Bristol City, August 2019)

Joao Pedro – £30m (Watford, May 2023)

Brilliant as Brighton are, their transfer strength has been in identifying rough diamonds from faraway lands to polish and move on for considerable profit rather than spending big. Pedro had a fine enough first season and there are high hopes for Yankuba Minteh, whose deal to join from Newcastle at least matched the Brazilian’s fee.

Chelsea

Alvaro Morata – £58m (Real Madrid, July 2017)

Kepa Arrizabalaga – £71m (Athletic Bilbao, August 2018)

Kai Havertz – £75.8m (Leverkusen, September 2020)

Romelu Lukaku – £97.5m (Inter Milan, August 2021)

Enzo Fernandez – £106.8m (Benfica, February 2023)

There is a genuine case to say Fernandez is legitimately already the best of those Chelsea signings, which reflects well on no-one. But Todd Boehly has continued that proud tradition of general waste, with £100m Moises Caicedo finally approaching his best form as the other half of a potentially sensational midfield.

Crystal Palace

Dwight Gayle – £4.5m (Peterborough, July 2013)

James McArthur – £7m (Wigan, September 2014)

Yohan Cabaye – £10m (PSG, July 2015)

Andros Townsend – £13m (Newcastle, July 2016)

Christian Benteke – £27m (Liverpool, August 2016)

A ludicrous fact: not a single one of those signings was made by Roy Hodgson (nine transfer windows in charge). Crystal Palace presumably still regret giving Alan Pardew (four transfer windows in charge) quite so much pocket money.

Everton

Yakubu Aiyegbini – £11.3m (Middlesbrough, August 2007)

Marouane Fellaini – £15m (Standard Liege, September 2008)

Romelu Lukaku – £28m (Chelsea, July 2014)

Jordan Pickford – £30m (Sunderland, June 2017)

Gylfi Sigurdsson – £45m (Swansea, August 2017)

Not sure what to say about that. It would probably make the best five-a-side team of any club on this list. Would love to see Lukaku at Powerleague.

Fulham

Steed Malbranque – £4.5m (Lyon, July 2001)

Edwin van der Sar – £7m (Juventus, August 2001)

Steve Marlet – £11.5m (Lyon, August 2001)

Konstantinos Mitroglou – £12m (Olympiakos, January 2014)

Jean Michael Seri – £25m (Nice, July 2018)

Fulham do like to use their regular Premier League promotions, or in the case of Mitroglou imminent relegations, to open new transfer doors.

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Ipswich

Steve Sedgley – £1m (Tottenham, June 1994)

Marcus Stewart – £2.5m (Huddersfield, February 2000)

Hermann Hreidarsson – £4.5m (Wimbledon, August 2000)

Matteo Sereni – £4.8m (Sampdoria, August 2001)

Omari Hutchinson – £20m, rising to £22.5m (July 2024)

Not ashamed to say that looking at the record transfer progression of clubs who have spent the last couple of decades outside the top flight – particularly those who once were in the Premier League – might be the most fun one can have within the boundaries of written law.

Leicester

Nampalys Mendy – £13m (Nice, July 2016)

Ahmed Musa – £16m (CSKA Moscow, July 2016)

Islam Slimani – £29.7m (Sporting, September 2016)

Ayoze Perez – £30m (Newcastle, July 2019)

Youri Tielemans – £40m (Monaco, July 2019)

They indulged in the summer after winning the Premier League title and during their first summer with Brendan Rodgers in charge. That’s what the smell of trophies and mince will do to you.

Liverpool

Fernando Torres – £20.2m (Atletico Madrid, July 2007)

Luis Suarez – £22.7m (Ajax, January 2011)

Andy Carroll – £35m (Newcastle, January 2011)

Mo Salah – £36.9m (Roma, June 2017)

Virgil van Dijk – £75m (Southampton, January 2018)

It is probably safe to suggest that Darwin Nunez has not activated enough add-ons to become Liverpool’s record signing just yet. That initial £64m fee paid to Benfica can rise as high as £85m, but not any time soon.

Manchester City

Aymeric Laporte – £57.2m (Athletic Bilbao, January 2018)

Riyad Mahrez – £60m (Leicester, July 2018)

Rodri – £62.8m (Atletico Madrid, July 2019)

Ruben Dias – £64.3m (Benfica, September 2020)

Jack Grealish – £100m (Aston Villa, August 2021)

As masters of the £50m transfer and really anything in that general ballpark, it seemed as though Pep Guardiola had rather unfairly cracked the art of the £100m move. Grealish overcame the usual season one struggles to contribute to a Treble in his second campaign before unlocking the lesser-seen difficult third Pep year.

Manchester United

Rio Ferdinand – £29.3m (Leeds, July 2002)

Dimitar Berbatov – £30.8m (Tottenham, September 2008)

Juan Mata – £37.1m (Chelsea, January 2014)

Angel di Maria – £59.7m (Real Madrid, August 2014)

Paul Pogba – £89.3m (Juventus, August 2016)

Fair play to Manchester United for accepting that their last two club-record signings were either immediately or eventually so catastrophic it would be foolish to try again. They have the longest-standing current Premier League transfer record.

Newcastle

Alan Shearer – £15m (Blackburn, July 1996)

Michael Owen – £16m (Real Madrid, August 2005)

Miguel Almiron – £20m (Atlanta United, January 2019)

Joelinton – £40m (Hoffenheim, July 2019)

Alexander Isak – £58m, rising to £63m (August 2022)

The bad news: Faustino Asprilla has finally been dislodged from this list. There is no good news. Apart from maybe apparent serendipitous Saudi interest in Almiron.

Nottingham Forest

Joao Carvalho – £13.2m (Benfica, June 2018)

Taiwo Awoniyi – £17.2m (Union Berlin, June 2022)

Emmanuel Dennis – £20m (Watford, August 2022)

Morgan Gibbs-White – £25m, rising to £42.5m (Wolves, August 2022)

Ibrahim Sangare – £30m (PSV, August 2023)

Another one difficult to accurately decipher without access to what are undoubtedly hilarious financial accounts, as while Elliot Anderson’s £35m fee obviously outstrips Sangare’s, both have either been eclipsed by Gibbs-White’s add-ons or probably will be soon enough.

Southampton

Sofiane Boufal – £16m (Lille, August 2016)

Mario Lemina – £18.1m (Juventus, August 2017)

Guido Carillo – £19m (Monaco, January 2018)

Danny Ings – £20m (Liverpool, July 2019)

Kamaldeen Sulemana – £22m, rising to £24.6m (Stade Rennais, January 2023)

The club famed for providing a conveyor belt of talent for Liverpool finally snapped their underwhelming transfer record streak by signing a player from them, if only to scrub very possibly the worst deal of all from this entire list: Carillo started seven games and did basically nothing before having his contract terminated a year before expiration. Sulemana has not been considerably better, mind.

Tottenham

Roberto Soldado – £26m (Valencia, August 2013)

Erik Lamela – £29m (Roma, August 2013)

Moussa Sissoko – £30m (Newcastle, September 2016)

Davinson Sanchez – £42m (Ajax, August 2017)

Tanguy Ndombele – £53.7m (Lyon, July 2019)

Again, Richarlison (£50m rising to £60m) is theoretically capable of usurping Ndombele, but that would make this collection only slightly less damning.

West Ham

Andre Ayew – £20.7m (Swansea, August 2016)

Marko Arnautovic – £25m (Stoke, August 2017)

Felipe Anderson – £36m (Lazio, July 2018)

Sebastien Haller – £45m (Eintracht Frankfurt, July 2019)

Lucas Paqueta – £51m (Lyon, August 2022)

One or both of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano probably belong here somewhere, but we’ve no idea of their actual fees. West Ham paid £20m in compensation to Sheffield United and £5.5m in Premier League fines over the third-party ownership fiasco with Tevez and that alone would qualify.

Wolves

Adama Traore – £18m (Middlesbrough, August 2018)

Raul Jimenez – £30m (Benfica, June 2019)

Fabio Silva – £35.6m (Porto, September 2020)

Matheus Nunes – £38m, rising to £42.2m (Sporting, August 2022)

Matheus Cunha – £44m (Atletico Madrid, July 2023)

Jorge Mendes is a sod.

Tottenham have completed the signing of Leeds midfielder Archie Gray in a player-plus-cash deal which sees Joe Rodon return to Elland Road.

Gray, 18, has attracted plenty of admirers after an impressive breakout season and Brentford had a bid in the region of £35million rejected on Sunday.

It opened the door for Tottenham to swoop for the England Under-21 international, who has signed a six-year deal with the Premier League club after they paid a fee between £25m and £30m to secure his services alongside the sweetener of former loanee Rodon going back to Leeds on a permanent basis.

Leeds’ failure to secure promotion via the Championship play-offs in May put pressure on them to make at least one lucrative sale in order to comply with financial fair play rules.

The versatile Gray flourished under Leeds boss Daniel Farke last season to become one of their most valuable assets, going on to make 52 appearances in all competitions at both right-back and in the centre of midfield after his league debut in August against Cardiff.

From a prestigious footballing family with his great-uncle Leeds stalwart Eddie Gray and dad Andy also previously playing for the Elland Road club, Archie won the Championship Young Player of the Year award and also starred during a run to the FA Cup fifth round.

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Chelsea registered an interest in the Leeds academy graduate alongside a host of other top-flight clubs, but Gray was convinced Tottenham was the best destination for him after talks with Ange Postecoglou and will get the chance to play Europa League football with the north London outfit.

Wales international Rodon has gone in the other direction, bringing to an end his four-year stay at Spurs.

Rodon signed from Swansea in 2020 but only played 24 times for Tottenham with his last outing for the club two years ago as a late substitute against Burnley towards the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

After spending the last two seasons on loan at Rennes and then Leeds, the 26-year-old has returned to the latter after signing a four-year deal.

Including two Jurgen Klopp favourites at Liverpool, here is a team of players who have officially become a free agent following the expiry of their contract at a Premier League club.

And here are the 20 best players in the world out of contract as of July 1.

GK: Marek Rodak

Wayne Hennessey or Marek Rodak? What a decision to have to make. The latter gets the nod as he is a whole decade younger than the Welshman.

We think Rodak can do a job in the Championship having proven himself in the second tier with Fulham, who harshly but rightly replaced him with Bernd Leno following their promotion in 2022.

RB: Japhet Tanganga

Ex-Tottenham full-back Tanganga won’t be a free agent much longer with Millwall hoping to sign him permanently after his loan spell in the second half of 2023/24 and Italian outfit Parma also keen.

He beats off mighty competition from Cedric Soares and Ryan Fredericks.

CB: Joel Matip

Matip is a player who gets into Jurgen Klopp’s greatest Liverpool XI, which incidentally only started together one time: the Champions League final victory over Tottenham in June 2019.

The Cameroonian centre-back is a big fan favourite at Anfield and might have been offered a one-year extension had he not suffered an ACL injury back in December. When fit, he will be a good signing for a team presumably in the top half of the Bundesliga, although he does stink of a move to one of Turkey’s big boys.

CB: Raphael Varane

Formerly one of the best centre-backs in world football, Varane’s reputation has taken a hit since leaving Real Madrid for Manchester United. That doesn’t take away from the fact he is a four-time Champions League winner, mind.

A return to RC Lens would be swell.

LB: Ryan Sessegnon

Sessegnon, like former Spurs pal Tanganga, shouldn’t be a free agent much longer, with Crystal Palace expected to sign him on a free.

He was supposed to be one of the most promising players in the country when he Broke Onto The Scene at Fulham but it has just not happened for him. At 24, there is time for Sessegnon to reach his potential; he just needs to get his next move right.

DM: Thiago

As much as we would have liked to include the smiley Mohamed Elneny, he is not on the same level as injury-prone Thiago, who Liverpool fans just know will go on to play 90% of his new club’s matches in 2024/25.

The Spanish playmaker is bloody brilliant on his day but we have not seen him ‘on his day’ for yonks.

CM: Andre Gomes

Like Sessegnon, Gomes was a player billed to become the next big thing but the Portuguese joined Barcelona and flopped massively, which naturally leads you to Goodison Park.

Now 30 years of age, Gomes is another player who is destined for the Turkish Super Lig.

CM: Tanguy Ndombele

Blimey, where do we begin? What a player Ndombele was for Lyon. Tottenham were right to pay a club-record fee for him after seeing him run the show against Manchester City in the Champions League.

The Frenchman showed some promise in his first season at the club but it was a shaky campaign overall. Given the benefit of the doubt having moved to a new country at a new age, Ndombele then became the unreliable, unfit disappointment that will be remembered by the Premier League.

Here’s hoping he can get his career back on track having had his Spurs contract terminated.

AM: Dele Alli

Another ex-Spurs star, Dele is a free agent having left Everton, who ended up paying their Premier League rivals diddly-squat as the player was unable to trigger any of his performance-based clauses.

Dele is working hard to get back to full fitness and is eyeing the World Cup with England in two years. Ambitious, we know, but we love it. Good luck to you, fella.

ST: Kelechi Iheanacho

Leicester paid over £20million for Iheanacho back in 2017 and in 232 appearances for the Foxes, he scored 61 and assisted 34. The Nigerian probably isn’t good enough for the Premier League but we can’t see him settling for another year in the Championship. If only there was a special division in the middle for him, Dwight Gayle and Anthony Knockaert.

ST: Anthony Martial

Expectations of Gomes and Sessegnon were minuscule in comparison to 2015 Golden Boy Anthony Martial, who leaves Manchester United having cost them a world-record fee for a teenager, signing a contract that comically included a Ballon d’Or clause.

United fans I know like Martial a lot, which is a bit odd from the outside looking in, but each to their own. He showed brilliance at times but nowhere near enough. Is he the ultimate Turkish Super Lig player or will he get a paycheck in Saudi Arabia, or even return to France? This is the only saga we care about.

Premier League club Tottenham are set to complete the signing of Leeds United midfielder Archie Gray for “around £40m”, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Championship Young Player of the Year was outstanding in 2023/24, playing 44 times in the second tier as the Whites reached the play-off final.

The 18-year-old played at right-back as well as in the centre of midfield to help Leeds finish third in the Championship.

Leeds are in a difficult financial situation and need to sell players this summer, with Gray one of the most likely to leave.

Crysencio Summerville is another who has been linked with an exit but there has been lots of talk of Gray exiting Elland Road over the last week.

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Brentford were reportedly very close to signing the teenager before he ‘experienced a change of heart’ after undergoing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

Leeds then rejected the Bees’ £35million bid, putting the final nail in the coffin.

Tottenham have since swooped in, with reports claiming an agreement between the two clubs was expected.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have reportedly been looking at Gray for a while now amidst interest from a host of clubs in the Premier League and across Europe.

‘Archie Gray to Tottenham, here we go!’

It looks like Spurs are set to get their man as transfer expert Romano has said “here we go” on the matter, the dirty boy.

Romano says the Londoners will pay “around £40m” to sign Gray with defender Joe Rodon expected to join Daniel Farke’s side for “around £10m”.

“Archie Gray to Tottenham, here we go!” he wrote on X. “Agreement in principle between all parties involved, waiting to sign docs.

“Spurs are set to pay fee around £40m, long term deal for Gray who’s accepted to join THFC.

“Joe Rodon to join LUFC in separate transaction around £10m.”

Leeds fans will be very happy to see Rodon join the club permanently after a stellar campaign on loan.

Rodon was one of the best defenders in the Championship last term and many Whites fans expected him to hold out for a move to a Premier League club.

The Welsh international played 50 of Leeds’ 54 matches across all competitions in 23/24 and leaves Spurs having made 15 Premier League appearances for them.

Tottenham are currently ‘working’ on a deal to sign Archie Gray from Leeds United after the highly-rated teenager’s move to Brentford fell through, according to reports.

Gray enjoyed a superb breakout season at Elland Road in 2023/24 and is expected to be on the move this summer following Leeds‘ failure to earn promotion back to the Premier League.

Daniel Farke’s side need to sell players and have already received fees for Luis Sinisterra and Marc Roca, whose loan exits last year have now become permanent.

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Gray will likely fetch a big fee and there have been reports over the weekend about a potential move to Brentford.

David Ornstein of The Athletic reported on Saturday that Gray had agreed personal terms with the Bees and was set to undergo a medical.

A £35million deal was expected to be finalised but it was reported on Sunday morning that Leeds had rejected that offer from the Premier League – the division above Leeds United – club. Leeds are in the Championship. That is the second tier of English football.

Tottenham swoop in for teenager after Brentford bid rejected by Leeds

With a move to Brentford now extremely unlikely, Ornstein has reported that Gray could be joining Tottenham instead. The boy is keen on London.

Ornstein says Ange Postecoglou’s side are currently ‘working on a move to sign’ the 18-year-old following Leeds’ rejection of the Bees’ £35m bid.

Both clubs ‘expect’ an agreement to be reached as ‘discussions continue’ with ‘nothing finalised’ at this moment in time.

It is revealed that Gray did undergo his Brentford medical on Saturday ‘after agreeing personal terms’, but the teenager ‘experienced a change of heart and is leaning towards joining Spurs if he departs Leeds’.

There are ‘a host of suitors from the Premier League and across Europe’ keen on signing Gray this summer, though Spurs ‘have been exploring the situation for months’, Ornstein adds.

Talks between the player and Spurs will take place on Sunday and personal terms are yet to be agreed.

Spurs’ interest is long-standing and it is added that they tried to sign Gray before he signed a professional contract at Elland Road when he was 17.

Tottenham will need to be busy in the summer transfer window if they want to close the gap on the top four. Aston Villa might fade with Champions League football, but so might Spurs with the Europa League…

It is now their turn for a game of keep or sell…

Who Tottenham should keep and who Tottenham should sell this summer

Guglielmo Vicario – Keep

Arguably the best signing of the Ange Postecoglou era, Guglielmo Vicario was superb in 2023/24, despite his lengthy clean sheet drought during the second half of the campaign.

Fraser Forster – Keep

We do not discriminate against over-the-hill goalkeepers happy to train all week and sit on the bench on matchday. The sooner Arsenal get one like Scotty Carson or Fraser Forster, the sooner we can take them seriously as title contenders.

Brandon Austin – Keep

Keep him around, we say. Austin signed a five-year contract in May.

Alfie Whiteman – Sell

If you are keeping Austin, it makes sense to get rid of Whiteman. Can they get a fee for him with one year left on his deal, though?

Emerson Royal – Sell

We have never been convinced by Emerson Royal and we just know Barcelona are still laughing at Tottenham for paying £26million for him. Lovely donation to a club in need, lads.

After a decent season, Spurs should cash in on the Brazilian right-back, who is not a horrible back-up to have in fairness. But if he can be sold for £15m or more, the Londoners should get him gone.

Pedro Porro – Keep

The signing of Pedro Porro confused us with Antonio Conte destined for the exit door. Porro joined as a promising right-wing-back and someone ideal for Conte’s system and when Postecoglou arrived, we knew Tottenham would not be using wing-backs. The Spaniard did not strike us as a great full-back but he was just that last season.

Porro was probably the second-best right-back – behind Arsenal’s Benjamin White – in the Premier League last season.

Djed Spence – Sell

Proper weird one, this. Djed Spence was brilliant for Nottingham Forest during his loan from Championship rivals Middlesbrough in 2021/22, having his Breaking Onto The Scene moment in an FA Cup third-round victory over Arsenal.

Spurs signed him despite Conte not really wanting him, fending off competition from Forest and Arsenal, and it was quickly clear that Conte really didn’t want him. To this day, Spence has six Spurs appearances to his name, none of which have been starts. Loan spells at Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa have not helped the 23-year-old, whose career has hit a brick wall.

Postecoglou should free him up so Spence can finally flourish again.

Cristian Romero – Keep

Brilliant player when he isn’t trying to break legs.

Micky van de Ven – Keep

Another excellent centre-back Tottenham have at their disposal, Micky van de Ven’s value has surely doubled since moving to north London.

Radu Dragusin – Keep

Romanian centre-back Radu Dragusin has looked good at Euro 2024 and Postecoglou spoke glowingly about him when on punditry duty for ITV. Signed in January, Dragusin will obviously not leave Spurs this summer.

Joe Rodon – Sell

After an excellent 23/24 campaign on loan at Leeds, Wales defender Joe Rodon will likely leave Spurs permanently this summer and we think that is the right decision for player and club. A return to Elland Road could be on the cards.

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Ashley Phillips – Loan

Spurs have an extremely promising defender on their hands in Ashley Phillips, who will largely benefit from being exposed to first-team football. He would be useful depth at Spurs but relying on injuries to help grow as a player is not the right thing to do.

Destiny Udogie – Keep

Another outstanding young player at the club, there is no question that Spurs should be keeping Destiny Udogie.

Sergio Reguilon – Sell

Reguilon still has a year left on his contract and Spurs should try to get money for him while it is a possibility.

Ben Davies – Keep

We don’t think Ben Davies is a brilliant player but he is decent depth and Knows The Club. It feels weird saying that about someone already at The Club. It really shouldn’t.

Yves Bissouma – Keep

Yves Bissouma has blown hot and cold since joining Tottenham from Brighton two summers ago. Unless random interest from Saudi Arabia comes, he should not be leaving.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – Sell

Someone who should be leaving is Danish international Hojbjerg who, like Reguilon, is out of contract next year. He is an experienced, solid defensive midfielder but is past his best. Hojbjerg should be playing regularly and stinks of a move back to the Bundesliga.

Pape Matar Sarr – Keep

One of many Spurs players with the world at their feet, we think Pape Matar Sarr has a big future in the Premier League.

Rodrigo Bentancur – Keep

Since suffering a serious knee injury in February 2023, Rodrigo Bentancur has not been the same player. He was just coming into his own before tearing his ACL against Leicester City.

If Spurs want to sell him due to his downturn in form (and horrible sense of *humour*), we completely understand. We just think there is still a player in there. Time will tell.

Oliver Skipp – Sell

Hmm, weird one, this. Oliver Skipp is not on the same level as Bentancur, Sarr, Bissouma and even Hojbjerg, and for that reason we are leaning towards him being sold. On the other hand, he is homegrown, which is quite important. And not because he can be sold for pure profit, though we did also recommend doing so here.

Giovani Lo Celso – Sell

Giovani Lo Celso is another one who the jury is well and truly out on. He has shown promise under Postecoglou and is clearly a talented boy but at the same time the Argentine has been a huge flop. He cost a lot of money, you know?

He is another player out of contract next year and we think Spurs should try to get some cash for him.

James Maddison – Keep

No-brainer, this.

Lucas Bergvall – Keep

Forgot about him, didn’t you? Well, they are hardly going to sell him right away. A loan is an option but we think he has the talent to instantly contribute.

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Bryan Gil – Sell

Has never been good enough since joining from Sevilla in July 2021 and should return to Spain on a permanent basis following underwhelming loan spells at Valencia and Sevilla.

At 23 years of age, Bryan Gil has plenty of time to come good but there is no chance of that happening at Tottenham.

Dejan Kulusevski – Keep

Didn’t enjoy his best year last term but that doesn’t mean selling Dejan Kulusevski makes any sense.

Brennan Johnson – Keep

Has only been at Spurs for a year and did quite well last season.

Heung-min Son – Keep

Club captain and their best player. Keeping Heung-min Son is another easy one.

Richarlison – Keep

Selling Richarlison will be a distinct possibility if Spurs sign a striker or two before the season kicks off. His injury record at the club has been worse than his goalscoring record, and that is the main reason why a sale can not be ruled out.

On the other hand, you feel like there is more to come from Richarlison, whose game drastically improved following Big Ange’s arrival last summer. He is a Big Ange kind of player, similar to Daizen Maeda at Celtic.

Alejo Veliz – Keep

There has been speculation over the future of young striker Alejo Veliz, who spent the second half of 23/24 on loan at Sevilla, where he played a grand total of 35 minutes. How pointless.

The lack of opportunities for the 20-year-old at Spurs has been disappointing to see. He joined the club with high expectations but has shown no signs of becoming the player he was highly touted to be at Rosario Central.

Spurs should keep the faith and more importantly, keep Veliz. A loan wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world but only to a team he is guaranteed to start for.

Tottenham will look to make their interest in Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze concrete after Euro 2024, according to reports.

Spurs are looking to build on a positive first season under Ange Posteocoglou, which saw them finish fifth in the Premier League and narrowly miss out on Champions League football.

Tottenham fans are now much happier with the style of play under the Australian and there’s a feeling that they could be even more successful next season with a sprinkling of quality signings.

One player most of the Premier League’s top clubs seem to be interested in is Crystal Palace winger Eze, who is currently away on international duty at Euro 2024 with the England squad.

Eze is available for around £60m this summer after contributing 11 goals and four assists in the Premier League last season over 27 appearances.

Tottenham are yet to make a bid for Eze but they have had an offer for £20m plus Giovani Lo Celso rejected for Aston Villa’s Aaron Ramsey this week.

And The Times are convinced that Spurs will ‘push’ to sign England international Eze once the European Championship in Germany comes to a conclusion.

The Times reporter Tom Allnutt writes:

‘Tottenham Hotspur have not given up hope of signing the Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey and will push to buy Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze once he returns from Euro 2024 with England.

‘An opening bid for Ramsey of £20million plus Giovani Lo Celso has already been rejected by Villa but Spurs are expected to try again for the 23-year-old, who has three years left on his contract. Lo Celso has long been admired by Unai Emery, who worked with the Argentinian while at Villarreal.

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‘Tottenham are trying to capitalise on Villa’s potential need to sell players before June 30 to stay within the Premier League’s financial rules but Villa are believed to value Ramsey at closer to £50million.

‘Ramsey has endured a year plagued by injury but is well known by Tottenham’s new technical director, Johan Lange, who previously worked at Villa. Spurs believe Ramsey would be a good fit for Ange Postecoglou, who wants to add dynamism to his midfield for next season.

‘Regardless of what happens with Ramsey, Eze is a key target for Tottenham, who have not been put off by the 25-year-old’s release clause, which is set at about £60million. Eze has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs but Spurs are confident they can hold off competition and plan to accelerate negotiations in the coming weeks.’

Tottenham have offered Richarlison plus cash for Newcastle United star Alexander Isak, according to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

Spurs are looking to build on a positive first season under Ange Postecoglou despite missing out on Champions League football towards the end of the campaign.

A report at the end of May insisted that the north London club will ‘consider bids’ for Richarlison as they prepare to allow up to 11 first-team players to leave over the summer transfer window.

The Brazil international signed for Tottenham from Everton for around £60m in 2022 but the striker has struggled to become a consistent key member of the team.

Last season was much better for Richarlison as he contributed 11 goals and four assists in 28 Premier League matches, compared to just one goal and three assists in 27 matches in his debut campaign.

But it appears Tottenham are open to seeing him leave north London in the summer with Italian journalist Di Marzio insisting that Spurs have been offering the 27-year-old out.

Touching on interest in Newcastle striker Isak, Di Marzio revealed that Tottenham had made a cash-plus-Richarlison offer for the Sweden international, which was rejected by the Magpies.

Di Marzio wrote on his own website: “Newcastle have also received offers for Isak . The club has already rejected them: among these there was also that of Tottenham who offered Richarlison plus a balancing payment.”

Tottenham are also understood to be interested in Sporting Lisbon winger Marcus Edwards alongside fellow Premier League outfit Crystal Palace.

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Reports in Portugal insist that Palace are looking to sign Edwards this summer with the former England Under-20 international available for between €20-30m in the current transfer window.

It is understood that a potential move to Crystal Palace has ‘not particularly enticed’ Edwards but that a return to Spurs, where he came through the youth ranks, would be a more appealing transfer.

The north Londoners have also been linked with a move for Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White but former Tottenham attacking midfielder Chris Waddle reckons a move to Newcastle would suit the 24-year-old better.

Waddle said: “If he had to choose between Newcastle United and Tottenham, then I think Newcastle would be a better fit for him. He primarily plays in that number ten role or supporting the strikers, and I think he would compliment Newcastle’s midfield of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton.

“With Maddison at Tottenham, I can’t see him playing in the role that he would want. Do Tottenham see Gibbs-White as more of a squad player or someone that can play in a number of positions? I can’t see him sitting on the bench at his next club, and there’s a danger that would happen if he joined Spurs. For me, he wouldn’t get into the team over James Maddison.”

Tottenham are hoping to win the ‘north London derby’ of the summer transfer market by beating Arsenal to Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori, according to reports.

Calafiori has had a brilliant breakout campaign at the Serie A side this summer after joining the Italian side from Swiss side Basel last summer.

The 22-year-old contributed two goals and five assists in 30 Serie A appearances to help Bologna to an impressive fifth-placed finish and qualify for the Champions League.

His performances have earned him a call-up to the Italy squad for Euro 2024 and he has played in all three of their group matches at the tournament.

That has seen interest in Calafiori from all over Europe with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirming that Bologna will want an “important fee” to allow the Italy international to leave this summer.

Romano said: “Bologna will ask for important fee for Riccardo Calafiori as they owe FC Basel around 40% of the future sale over €6m for the Italian defender.”

Bologna sporting director Marco Di Vaio has also commented on the future of Calafiori, he said: “We’ll see after the Euros but want to keep all our players, including Calafiori.”

And now reports in Italy claim that Tottenham are ‘ready to break in’ and steal Calafiori from under the nose of north London rivals Arsenal this summer.

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It is understood that Spurs are ‘taking on Arsenal in a transfer “North London derby”‘ and Serie A giants Juventus could miss out because of the ‘purchasing power of the Premier League’.

The ‘main obstacle’ between the Premier League sides and Calafiori is ‘the will of Bologna not to sell him’ with the Italian outfit looking for a ‘monstrous offer’ if they are to let the centre-back depart.

Arsenal could be impacted further if Juventus miss out on the Italian with the Old Lady set to ‘further raise their antennas on Kiwior, already identified as an alternative to Calafiori’.

But there is hope still for Juventus, the report adds:

‘Without abandoning all hope of reaching the blue team, let’s be clear: the opportunity to continue working with Thiago Motta who launched him remains an ace up the Juventus sleeve, as is the possibility of consolidating in Italy after the first high-profile season.’

Calafiori’s Italy team-mate Alessandro Bastoni is enjoying playing alongside the Bologna centre-back in the heart of Luciano Spalletti’s defence at Euro 2024.

Bastoni commented recently: “I am on good terms with Calafiori. He has enormous quality, he has no fear of playing the ball, and he’s similar to the player I was three years ago.

“As the coach [Spalletti] said, playing certain games is an important step. We’ve played two games together so I hope we will complete this affinity with time.”

Liverpool have made contact with the representatives of Crystal Palace and England winger Eberechi Eze, according to reports.

The Reds are looking to aid Arne Slot’s arrival at Anfield by giving him the tools he needs to do his job after Jurgen Klopp left at the end of the season.

Michael Edwards has returned to Liverpool as FSG’s CEO of football, while Richard Hughes has joined from Bournemouth as the Merseysiders’ new sporting director.

And they have been linked with a number of new attackers over the summer and now The Palace Way are reporting that Liverpool have ‘contacted’ Eze’s agents ‘this week’ as they declare their interest in the England international.

Manchester City and Tottenham are apparently ‘waiting in the wings’ too and Palace are wasting no time in identifying a replacement with the Eagles entering talks to sign Antonio Nusa from Club Brugge.

Elsewhere, talkSPORT are claiming that Tottenham are ‘serious’ about Crystal Palace winger Eze and intend to activate his £60m release clause once they have sold players this summer.

The report in talkSPORT claims:

‘With Michael Olise poised to sign on the dotted line at Bayern Munich, Crystal Palace face a fresh fight to keep another of their star players.

‘Olise’s departure for Bavaria is a significant blow for manager Oliver Glasner, who was hoping to keep the Frenchman for at least one more season.

‘Glasner now risks losing Olise’s Selhurst Park teammate and England new-boy Eberechi Eze, who talkSPORT is told has serious interest from Tottenham.

‘Like Olise, it is believed Eze has a release clause of around £60m in his contract, which Spurs will look at activating once they have moved players off their wage bill.’

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Eze, who is part of Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024, ruptured his Achilles tendon in training in May 2021 before going inside to find out he had been selected for England’s preliminary 33-man squad for the last Euros.

Describing the rollercoaster of emotion, Eze said: “It was obviously my first time getting that message, but this is after my Achilles had ruptured on the training pitch.

“I’d gone inside, checked my phone and saw the message, so it was a tough day but, again, it’s part of the journey, part of the story, and I’m grateful to be here now.

“So, from then you’re sort of dealing with the emotion of, like, what could have been, all that type of stuff. I was there at the games watching with a cast on my foot.

“It was tough but, again, I don’t think I have the mentality that I have now without an experience like that. I think those types of experiences make you stronger, they build your character and they give you more strength going forward.”