Sport Witness

Tottenham were keen on signing attacking players in the winter transfer window.

Spurs landed Mathys Tel on a loan deal from Bayern Munich and reportedly attempted to sign Santiago Gimenez before he joined AC Milan.

There is now a hint that Tottenham are still looking to bolster their attack, but Arsenal are believed to have a better on one specific player.

Florian Plettenberg has reported that the player in question is RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, who also interests Chelsea and Manchester United.

Tottenham are presented as a suitor for the Slovenian, who has a release clause that can rise to €80m in the summer transfer window.

Ange Postecoglou’s side ‘have little chance’ of landing the striker. In the meantime, Arsenal have expressed strong interest in their willingness to land him.

So far this season, Sesko has ten goals in the Bundesliga and has four assists as well. He’s scored four Champions League goals, showing his quality at the highest level.

Since Tel is at Spurs on a temporary basis, it would not be a surprise to see Daniel Levy move for another attacker. For now, the belief in Germany is it’s highly unlikely that attacker will be Sesko.

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi over the last few months.

Back in January, a report stated that the Lilywhites could be favourites to land the midfielder as they can afford to meet Inter’s price tag, leaving Napoli and Roma behind in the chase.

TuttoSport today have provided some background about Tottenham’s liking for the 25-year-old midfielder.

The Italian paper claim that while Nottingham Forest are planning a summer move for the Italy international, Spurs have already attempted a move.

They state that Tottenham ‘tested the waters’ in January but the deal could never quite take off.

That was because of Inter’s high demands and they had put up a ‘wall’ to make sure that Frattesi stayed at the Giuseppe Meazza in the winter transfer window.

They succeeded in keeping the Azzurri star but his game time has dried up once again since then. He has played only ten minutes in the last three games in the Serie A.

This can make sure that his situation attracts more attention in the summer and it remains to be seen if Tottenham will come forward again.

Tottenham Hotspur have secured an option to buy Real Betis’ Johnny Cardoso as part of Giovani Lo Celso’s sale to the Spanish club last summer.

Cardoso has impressed this season and on February 4th, Real Betis rewarded with him a new contract until 2030.

Last month, Marca stated there won’t be any changes to Tottenham’s preferential option to buy the American for €25m in the summer despite his new €80m release clause.

Mucho Deporte points out Tottenham can buy the midfielder for €25m and the clause is only valid in June.

At the weekend, the Spurs target played with Isco in the La Liga club’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid. Cardoso scored the equaliser in the 34th minute before Isco scored the winner against his former club in the second half.

Mucho Deporte state the clash against Los Blancos showed Cardoso has become a ‘luxury’ partner for Isco.

He was paired along with Sergi Altimira in midfield and gave ‘balance’ to Real Betis’ midfield. The outlet claims Cardoso was crucial for his side, while going forward and also when stopping Real Madrid’s attack.

The 23-year-old completed 87% pass completion rate, blocked three shots and made five interceptions along with a goal. He was ‘enormous’ for 90 minutes against the Champions League winners.

Cardoso continues to attract interest from other clubs, but Tottenham have the advantage of exercising the clause to buy him for €25m.

His recent impressive performances should certainly please Spurs and this is a deal all lined up for the summer.

Fabio Paratici had a controversial end to his time at Tottenham Hotspur, with a ban relating to irregularities from his psell at Juventus

He brought in players like Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario, Rodrigo Bentancur and Destiny Udogie, but his director operations with the London club stopped due to the ban imposed by FIFA in 2023.

While Paratici is still advising Tottenham despite not being under a formal contract, his future looks uncertain and TuttoSport have reported about the situation.

The outlet state that there are a host of potential suitors for Paratici, who has attracted other clubs in England and talks have been held with Premier League sides.

A return to Tottenham has been described as ‘difficult’ despite the fact that he has a very good relationship with the club’s upper management.

The 52-year-old is thought to be keen on returning to a role in Italy soon and there is interest from AC Milan, who also have ex-Lazio sporting director Igli Tare on their shortlist. Going to the San Siro could potentially be Paratici’s solution.

No decision has been made yet and no decisive moves have come forward for him.

Tottenham Hotspur are working on extending Rodrigo Bentancur’s contract, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.

The Uruguay international has been a regular under Ange Postecoglou when available for selection.

Despite being suspended for domestic fixtures for his remarks against Son Heung-min, he made 28 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham this season.

The midfielder is a ‘pillar’ of this current Spurs squad and has less than 18 months left on his contract. The Premier League club want to secure his long-term future by offering him an extension.

TMW state the former Celtic manager is also in favour of this and is ‘pushing’ for the 27-year-old’s renewal.

Tottenham consider the South American ‘fundamental’ to the project and started contacts with his entourage to extend the contract. At this point in time, the discussions haven’t yet progressed and are still in early stages.

With Tottenham and Postecoglou keen to extend the player’s contract, the report states the English club will schedule meetings with his entourage in the ‘coming weeks’. More developments are expected in this case.

Bentancur joined the Premier League side from Juventus in January 2022 and made 97 appearances for them so far.

Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi is still on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar after they looked at him in the last two windows.

Last month, we covered claims from Italy which stated Spurs were ready to make an offer and the midfielder is ready to pack his bags. The said proposal never arrived and he’s still at the San Siro.

InterLive.it state Tottenham already tried to convince the Serie A club to sell the 25-year-old last summer but weren’t successful.

The north London club are expected to return for the Italy international at the end of this season.

InterLive.it mention ‘€30m on the table’, with them believing that’s the fee Tottenham are willing to propose.

Either way, it looks like Spurs aim to sign him for €30m. The report states Inter president Giuseppe Marotta could end up selling the player in the next window.

The English club have been after him since last summer and are still ‘on the hunt’ for him. They could secure his services, provided they were to convince the Italian.

InterLive.it state ‘almost everything’ will depend on Frattesi, who was inclined on leaving the San Siro in January.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Bryan Gil has been on loan at Girona since last summer and scored four goals and registered three assists from 30 games for them so far.

The La Liga side have an option to make the winger’s stay permanent for €15m at the end of this season.

Estadio Deportivo reports on Girona’s plans for the Tottenham man and their title says ‘signing is within reach’.

The 24-year-old has done well for the Spanish club but there are still doubts over extending his stay because of the financial conditions. They have no plans to exercise the €15m purchase clause.

Gil’s contract at Tottenham lasts until 2026, meaning the summer window will be the last big chance of Spurs to cash in from his sale. Due to his contract situation, Estadio state the north London club will ‘lose the position of strength’ during the transfer negotiations.

Girona won’t move until the end of this season and are waiting for the summer window to reopen to try to negotiate with Tottenham to lower the price.

The attacker isn’t part of Ange Postecoglou’s core plans. Therefore, Tottenham could risk losing him for free in 2026 or send him out on loan late in the next window if they decide to not reduce the asking price.

With Girona unlikely to exercise the purchase clause, Gil will be back in the market after this season, and he prioritises returning to La Liga.

Estadio’s title says Gil’s signing is ‘within reach’ for Girona, which appears to be related to the confidence over a cheaper deal.

Earlier this week, we covered claims from Germany which stated Tottenham Hotspur’s Timo Werner can imagine moving in the MLS. It was also reported New York Red Bulls could provide him an opportunity to relaunch his career.

Werner joined Spurs on loan from RB Leipzig in January 2024 and his temporary stay was extended until the end of this season. Tottenham have an option to make his loan move permanent for €10m.

Bild claim the Premier League club won’t exercise the purchase option and the 28-year-old has to return to Leipzig.

The Germany international’s contract at the Bundesliga club lasts until 2026, but he has no future with them. He has to find a solution in the summer window and the American club could be an option for him.

Werner’s former Leipzig teammate, Emil Forsberg, joined New York Red Bulls in 2024. The former Chelsea man can see himself making a switch to America.

The report says Forsberg ‘lures’ the Tottenham man to join him at the American club. The 33-year-old Swede would like to reunite with him, while insists the final decision is down to Werner.

“Of course I would love to take Timo. He’s a great player. We had great years in Leipzig. But unfortunately, I can’t make that decision,” he told Bild.

Jan Vertonghen was an important part of the Tottenham Hotspur squad during Jose Mourinho’s time at the club.

The Belgian played 21 games under the manager and yesterday Mourinho faced off against his former player in the Europa League play-off round first leg as Fenerbahce beat Anderlecht 3-0 at home.

Vertonghen was on the bench for Anderlecht and didn’t come on for the club but he did share a warm moment with his former manager.

After the game, Mourinho spoke to the press about his encounter with the ex-Tottenham defender and he described him as one of his ‘boys’ and how that will always be the case. The 37-year-old also gave the manager his shirt.

Mourinho said, as relayed by Telegraaf: “Jan is still one of my boys. That will always be the case. The way he is as a footballer, but also as a person. I love that. I will cherish his shirt.”

While Vertonghen was not quite a regular under the Portuguese coach at Tottenham, he captained the side at that point.

Spurs didn’t win silverware during Mourinho’s stint in London but it is quite clear that there is still a lot of respect between the manager and the players from that era, even if the period didn’t end in a pretty way.

Tottenham Hotspur were linked with a move for AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori in the winter transfer window.

While a fee was agreed with the Italian club, the player rejected the transfer as he wanted to stay at Milan. He’d responded in a similar way to interest from Juventus earlier in the window, so it wasn’t a Spurs specific.

Tottenham ended up signing Kevin Danso from Lens and the Austrian has already become an important player for Ange Postecoglou since his arrival.

Despite that, the Italian belief is this does not rule out Spurs going back in for Tomori in the summer transfer window.

MilanLive have reported that the Rossoneri have already made their decision about the Englishman’s long-term future. They see him as a sellable asset and that is why they were keen on moving him on two weeks ago.

Their stance remains the same and they believe that Tottenham could return to the fray for the centre-back and also hold an interest in Yunus Musah. They would hope that Tomori agrees to join Spurs.

The 27-year-old hasn’t fully impressed for Milan in the past couple of seasons but has done well in the past two games for Sergio Conceicao’s side.