FootballFanCast.com

Out of the traditional 'big six' Premier League sides, only Chelsea and perhaps Manchester United have been busier than Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

The North Londoners have signed several exciting young talents like Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Yang Min-Hyeok, extended Timor Werner's loan for another season, and, most importantly, spent £65m on bringing in Dominic Solanke.

However, the window is still open for another week, and based on recent reports, Daniel Levy and Co could bring in even more promising youngsters.

In fact, the latest star touted for a move to N17 enjoyed a brilliant season last year and has shades of former Spurs great Mousa Dembélé about him.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Tottenham are one of several Premier League clubs interested in RC Lens prospect Andy Diouf.

Alongside the Lilywhites, the report has claimed that Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion all sent scouts to watch the 21-year-old in the club's 2-1 Conference League qualifier victory over Panathinaikos on Thursday night.

The story does not mention a potential price, but considering the £15k-per-week star only joined the Ligue 1 side last summer, he'd presumably cost a pretty penny.

However, given his potential and form last season, Diouf is a player Levy and Co should seriously consider signing, especially as there are shades of Dembélé to him.

How Diouf resembles Dembélé

Okay, so let's examine the ways in which the youngster has shades of former Spurs star Dembélé about him.

The first is that, like the Belgian during his pomp, the Neuilly-sur-Seine-born midfielder is already a great ball carrier, as evidenced by FBref placing him in the top 1% of all midfielders in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League for progressive carries per 90.

A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent's goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.

He also sits in the top 2% for successful take-ons, 14% for total shots and shot-creating actions, and 20% for progressive passes received.

Not only is this an incredible statistic in its own right, but it's made all the more outrageous by the fact that the Frenchman is still just 21, suggesting that, in time, he could pull even further away from the pack and become a ball-carrying machine, much like the former Lilywhites star was.

The second similarity is two-fold and comes from the fact that the "progressive" youngster, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, plays in the same areas of the pitch and shares the physical characteristics of the 82-capped Belgian, also coming in at over 6 foot - 6 foot 2 in his case.

This towering presence in the middle of the park, combined with his "great engine", per Mattinson, and incredible ball-carrying, could see him develop into an all-action midfielder able to take control and dictate games on his own.

Lastly, like the Antwerp-born icon, the Lens gem is left-footed, which, considering James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are all right-footed, would give Postecoglou another option to choose from.

Ultimately, Diouf may not be a name familiar to many outside of France, and while he might not quite reach the level Dembélé did, there is undoubtedly a lot of talent there. Therefore, Spurs should do what they can to pick him up before someone like City does.

Having already shown the door to the likes of Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer, Tottenham Hotspur are set to get ruthless once more, showing the door to another player.

Tottenham transfer news

For a long time, it looked as though Spurs were prepared to enter the new season without a replacement for Harry Kane for the second campaign running, but the arrival of Dominic Solanke quickly eased those fears.

The former Liverpool forward arrived from Bournemouth in a deal worth a reported £65m earlier this month. The Lilywhites will have to wait slightly longer to see his first home appearance, however, after he picked up an injury in Spurs' 1-1 draw against Leicester to open their season.

They could at least watch new signing Wilson Odobert make his Premier League debut for the club, though, not long after arriving from Championship side Burnley.

The same can't be said for one particular defender whose time at the club appears to be coming to an end in the next week. According to Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke, Sergio Reguilon is "certain" to complete a move away from Spurs this month, as Daniel Levy looks to cash in amid interest from European giants Barcelona.

Into the final year of his contract, which sees the Spaniard earn a reported £120,000-a-week, Barcelona are reportedly eyeing a cut-price deal to sign the left-back.

It must be said that an exit would suit all parties, with Reguilon's loan moves to Manchester United and Brentford last season indicating that Ange Postecoglou does not see a place for the former Real Madrid man in his side.

After cashing in on Reguilon, the Lilywhites may even use the money generated courtesy of his departure to seal a deal for AS Monaco's Vanderson, who they've been linked with in recent weeks.

Reguilon needs Tottenham exit

Earning a reported £120k-a-week, Spurs are right to show Reguilon the door this summer if he's not in Postecoglou's plans. Skipp, Emerson Royal and Hojberg suffered that fate and now the left-back looks to join them out the door to continue the Lilywhites' summer clear-out.

Those earlier exits have paved the way for the likes of Solanke, Archie Gray and Odobert to all arrive, representing Spurs' current sustainable business model, and Reguilon's departure will likely make room for more fresh faces. Into the final week of the summer transfer window, those in north London could yet be in for a busy few days.

Before anything, of course, Postecoglou will want to ensure that his side secure their first win of the Premier League campaign when Everton travel to north London in search of ticking off the same goal.

Without Solanke this weekend and perhaps Reguilon on a permanent basis, the Lilywhites have an early chance to prove any doubters wrong about their squad depth. Suffer defeat, however, and any rust shown against Leicester City will look more and more like weakness at Spurs.

Tottenham are keeping a close eye on a former Premier League defender as they look to bolster their ranks ahead of the transfer window slamming shut.

Spurs stumble in season opener

Ange Postecoglou's side looked as though they were set to thrash Leicester City on Monday night as they rounded off the first weekend of Premier League action, but were wasteful and duly punished by evergreen striker Jamie Vardy, which forced them to settle for a draw at the King Power Stadium.

"It is a disappointing outcome. We were very dominant first half but really wasteful in front of goal. We started the second half similar", Postecoglou explained after the game.

"But you know at 1-0 there is always an opportunity for the opposition to come back into the game. That's what happened and we lost our way for 15 or 20 minutes. We lost our composure and the crowd got behind them, but again we finished strong.

"I am just really disappointed as we lacked a little cutting edge in the front third and made some poor decisions. We lacked some composure and didn't get the reward our football deserved."

So far, Spurs have added six new faces to their ranks this summer, breaking their transfer record to bring Dominic Solanke to the club and also shelling out on Championship talents Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert from Leeds United and Burnley respectively.

Now, they have been linked to add another in the final days of the transfer window in a surprise move.

Tottenham and Man Utd eyeing move for Barcelona defender

That comes courtesy of reports from Spanish outlet Sport, relayed by Sport Witness, who claim that Spurs are one of the sides keeping tabs on Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen in what they describe as a surprise target.

The ex-Chelsea man is on the market as Barcelona look to trim their squad, with the report revealing that both the Dane and Eric Garcia are candidates to depart before the end of the transfer window, depending on the offers received for the pair.

Though Barcelona want to make more signings, they must sell first and value Christensen at €25m (£21.2m), while some reports claim that they cannot even register new signing Dani Olmo until they have made further sales.

This mess has caught the eye of Manchester United and Tottenham, both of whom are said to be "on the lookout" for the Danish defender and could move before the end of the summer window.

As it stands, Tottenham have Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven and Radu Dragusin on their books, as well as out of favour defender Ben Davies and young talent Ashley Phillips, who is expected to leave on loan in the final days.

Though his Chelsea links may well count against him, should Spurs be able to land favourable terms for the Danish international, it could be a shrewd move with Postecoglou's side back in Europa League action this season and likely to need more cover at the back.

It's been a pretty good summer for Tottenham Hotspur so far this year, and while the draw away to Leicester City on Monday night was far from ideal, the club looks set for a big season.

Ange Postecoglou will be looking to go one better than last year by leading the team up the Premier League table and into the Champions League places, and after the team's summer of spending, that's starting to look like a far more realistic objective than it did in May.

Daniel Levy and Co have been busy in the last few months, bringing some exciting youngsters to beef up the squad, like Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert, while significantly improving the starting lineup with the £65m capture of Dominic Solanke.

However, with a week to go until the window slams shut, the Lilywhites look primed to do more business, and the latest player touted for a move to N17 would mirror their transfer of Gray and be the perfect long-term Bissouma replacement.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Tottenham are interested in Middlesbrough star Hayden Hackney.

The report reveals that, alongside the Lilywhites, West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, all sent scouts to watch the young midfielder in his first two Championship games of the season.

That said, it's not just the competition that could make this a complicated deal to get over the line for the North Londoners, as the report claims Boro manager Michael Carrick is determined not to lose the young star this season, whom Transfermarkt values at just €7m - £6m.

However, if Spurs really pushed for this deal, it seems unlikely that the Championship side would be able to stop them, and while he's unproven at the top level, similar to Gray prior to Monday, he could be the ideal replacement for Bissouma.

How Hayden compares to Bissouma

So, before we look at the comparison between the Boro gem and Spurs' Malian midfielder, how does this move reflect the one for Gray earlier this summer?

Well, put simply, it would be the North Londoners once again dipping into the Championship to sign an exciting up-and-coming English youngster from a team who couldn't win promotion last season.

Moreover, while the former Leeds ace is more versatile than Hackney, he has also played a significant amount of minutes in central and defensive midfield in the past, which means that if this transfer happens, there's a chance that the pair could form an exciting double pivot at some point in the future.

However, with all that said, if the 22-year-old makes the move to Tottenham in the coming days, then one of his main obstacles to first-team football will be Bissouma, but how do the pair stack up?

Well, interestingly, when we take a look at their underlying numbers from last season, the "sensational" young talent, as dubbed by journalist Graeme Bailey, actually comes out ahead of the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace in the majority of metrics, and by quite some way at that.

For example, the Redcar-born gem comes out on top in statistics such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, passes into the penalty area, key passes, live passes, shot and goal-creating actions and successful take-ons, all per 90.

He even does better in some defensive metrics, such as blocks and ball recoveries per 90, showing that he can do a bit of everything.

A ball recovery is defined by the number of loose balls recovered by a player.

Now, you have to consider that the England U21 ace was playing in a weaker league, but the Championship has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, and the fact he's doing so well is undoubtedly encouraging.

Ultimately, Bissouma was underwhelming for much of last season, to put it diplomatically, and has already caused problems for Postecoglou this season, so it would make sense for the club to want to move him on, and in Hackney, they could have the perfect replacement and a player who could become something extraordinary in North London.

Therefore, Levy and Co should do what they can to secure the Boro ace's services before someone else does.

After a long summer of international football, the Premier League is finally back, and while Tottenham Hotspur didn't get off to the best of starts, there is still a lot for fans of the North Londoners to be excited about.

For example, Daniel Levy and Co have been busy over the last few months, signing several talented youngsters like Archie Gray, Yang Min-Hyeok and Wilson Odobert while also significantly strengthening the first team with the £65m signing of Dominic Solanke.

However, one deal that left fans somewhat perplexed was the decision to renew Timo Werner's loan for another season, as while the German isn't a dreadful player, he's not of the level required to help Spurs push on either.

Fortunately, the latest player touted for a move to N17 would be the perfect replacement, someone who could impact the first team here and there while also having the potential to become something really quite special.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from football.london, Tottenham are interested in Brighton & Hove Albion ace Simon Adingra.

The report claims that while Spurs had an enquiry about the young winger rebuffed by the Seagulls earlier in the window, he is still firmly on their 'radar'.

It's unclear how much the 22-year-old would cost the North Londoners, but considering he is currently valued at €30m - £26m - by Transfermarkt, we can assume it would be north of that.

It would be a lot of money to spend a player with just one season of Premier League football under his belt, but given his performances over the last few seasons, his potential and the way people speak about him, it may well be worth it, especially as he would be a better squad player than Werner.

Why Adingra would be a more useful winger than Werner

The first thing to say is that while he gets plenty of stick, Werner is not a terrible player. However, at this point in time, is he really a useful addition to the Spurs' squad?

Probably not, and while Adingra is still young and relatively inexperienced, he's already shown that he's worth signing.

For example, despite last year being his first season in English football, the Abobo-born "starboy", as dubbed by Statman Dave, scored seven goals and provided three assists in 40 appearances across all competitions, meaning he averaged a goal involvement once every four games.

In contrast, the former Chelsea attacker scored four goals and provided four assists in 28 appearances for the Lilywhites and RB Leipzig, which means his average of one goal involvement every 3.5 games was only slightly better than a youngster just coming into a top-five league.

Moreover, while the German has shown a tendency to favour playing on the left or down the middle, the £12.5k-per-week Ivorian international has already shown that he is very comfortable playing across the entire frontline and further back in wide midfield as well, which might give a manager like Postecoglou more tactical flexibility.

Lastly, with it clear that Tottenham are trying to build a team for the future, full of long-term prospects like Gray and Odobert, it makes perfect sense to add another high-potential gem into the mix who could take over Werner's role as a bench player, picking up valuable minutes here and there before slowly transitioning into a starter in the years to come.

Therefore, Levy and Co should do what they can to make this move happen, even at the expense of Werner's minutes.

A Saudi side are eyeing a late move for one "quality" Tottenham player, and it is believed he wants to leave north London before the transfer cut-off.

Players who Spurs have sold or loaned out this summer

Lilywhites head coach Ange Postecoglou has orchestrated a real summer shake-up over the last few months, with a host of players quitting Spurs as the Australian restructures his squad.

Eric Dier, Ivan Perisic, Tanguy Ndombele, Japhet Tanganga, Ryan Sessegnon, Joe Rodon, Troy Parrott, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Emerson Royal, Bryan Gil, Alejo Veliz, Dane Scarlett and Oliver Skipp have all either been sold or loaned out by Tottenham so far this summer, with Postecoglou and his transfer chiefs seriously trimming the squad.

In their stead, Timo Werner, Archie Gray, Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert have come in, but there are still a couple of senior players who could quit Spurs before the transfer cut-off on August 31.

Sergio Reguilon has been linked with a return to Man United as Erik ten Hag scours the market for new left-back options, and Fabrizio Romano claims the 27-year-old would relish an opportunity to make the move back to Old Trafford.

“Another player who would love to return to Manchester United is Sergio Reguilon," Romano said.

“He was already at the club one year ago and he would be really open to returning. Man United are really aware of his situation at Tottenham and that may be an opportunity again in the final days because he has to leave Tottenham in the final days.”

The Spaniard's exit appears to be one to watch, going by Romano's update, while Giovani Lo Celso also doesn't appear to feature in Postecoglou's plans. The Argentine World Cup winner, on £70,000-a-week, started just four Premier League games last season, making a further 18 appearances from the bench, and he won't want to stay on the fringes of this Tottenham squad for much longer.

Al-Qadsiah eyeing late swoop for Lo Celso who wants to leave Spurs

According to South American news outlet Ole, via Sport Witness, Saudi side Al-Qadsiah are among the contenders to sign Lo Celso, who wants to quit Tottenham in the next nine days.

Unai Emery, who worked with the attacking midfielder at Villarreal, is also keen to take him to Aston Villa - so Lo Celso's future will be very interesting to watch unfold.

“Gio was very good today, not just with his work rate but you could see his quality on the ball," said Postecoglou after a Lo Celso performance against Bournemouth last season.

"His passes through and the one through to Sonny was outstanding. We needed him today and we’re going to need him going forward because Sonny goes away now, Biss goes away, Pape goes away. So I thought he was a good contributor.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has been described as "desperate" to sign an alternative to midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, with the Uruguayan's horror head injury against Leicester City exposing the need for more options.

Bentancur knocked unconscious in 1-1 draw away to Leicester

Following a clash of heads with Foxes forward Abdul Fatawu, Bentancur was knocked unconscious and required oxygen, before being stretchered off the field in what was a real scare for the South American.

Following the incident, Postecoglou confirmed that Bentancur was back awake and able to hold conversations, but didn't add much further as the 27-year-old gets medical treatment behind-the-scenes.

“I don’t have a lot of information but I do know he is up and is communicating, so he is fine from that point of view, but a head injury and I’ll leave it in the hands of the medical team now,” said Postecoglou on Bentancur's head injury.

“The key thing is he is definitely conscious and communicating.”

Concussion protocols mean that Bentancur will almost certainly miss Spurs' next game at home to Everton, and this incident perhaps highlights the need for Postecoglou to get an extra body in his midfield before the transfer cut-off on August 31.

The north Londoners let go of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg earlier this summer, who joined Marseille on a season loan-to-buy deal, while Oliver Skipp most recently departed for Leicester in a transfer worth around £20 million.

There are few back-ups to call upon in the event of absences and serious injuries in midfield, which is a real cause for concern for Postecoglou, as all the Premier League's elite sides all have one thing in common - strength in depth.

Postecoglou desperate to sign Bentancur alternative at Tottenham

As per GiveMeSport, Postecoglou is apparently "desperate" to sign a Bentancur alternative for Tottenham before deadline day, and it is believed they're considering a move for £50 million Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes as a result.

The Brazilian starred under Gary O'Neil last season, scoring two goals and assisting one other in 34 Premier League appearances. Just 23 years of age, Gomes fits the bill of a young and tenacious tackler who could be a real asset for the Lilywhites, but it could be a very difficult deal to pull off this late in the window.

"They set the tone absolutely terrifically. They've got a nice partnership going," said BBC pundit Danny Murphy on both Gomes and Mario Lemina, after the pair caused Spurs real problems back in February.

"They know Tottenham like to play out, they were brave and tried to win it back. As soon as they won it back they got the transitions with the pace of Neto and Hwang [Hee-Chan] up front.

"The defensive work in central midfield is something that goes unnoticed sometimes, but you can't win matches in the Premier League unless your midfielders do the hard yards and the dirty bits and they did it brilliantly. The pair of them, outstanding."

Tottenham Hotspur have been one of the busier clubs in the transfer market this summer, bringing in talented youngsters like Archie Gray, Yang Min-Hyeok and Wilson Odobert, while also going big on former Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke.

However, with just under two weeks left until the window slams shut, Daniel Levy and Co look prepared to dip back into the market to ensure that Ange Postecoglou has the best tools available to achieve his goals this season.

In fact, one of the latest stars touted for a move to N17 is already Premier League-proven and would help solve the club's Yves Bissouma problem.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, Tottenham have 'set their sights' on signing Wolverhampton Wanderers star Joao Gomes.

The report claims that the Brazilian international has recently 'worked his way firmly onto the capital club's radar', in part due to Rodrigo Bentancur's injury against Leicester City on Monday night, but also because they see him as an ideal fit for Postecoglou's high energy system.

However, if the Lilywhites want to get this deal done, it'll cost them, with previous reports from GIVEMEPSPORT revealing that the Old Gold wouldn't entertain offers below £50m for the 23-year-old.

It could be an expensive transfer to get over the line, but given Gomes' quality and the problems around Bissouma at the moment, it is one well worth fighting for.

How Gomes compares to Bissouma

So, before we compare the two midfielders from a statistical perspective, it's essential to recognise that one of the most significant issues with Bissouma at present is that his actions off the field have led to his suspension from the squad.

Regardless of how talented a player is, their judgment and actions away from football can detrimentally impact the club itself.

With that said, one of the reasons Gomes could be an ideal replacement is that, like the Mali international, he is a relatively versatile player who can play in either central or defensive midfield, meaning that from a positional point of view, there shouldn't be any issues with Postecoglou's tactics.

However, in order to get a better understanding of how the Wolves ace actually stacks up to the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace, we need to compare their underlying numbers, as looking at their goal involvements wouldn't really tell us much about how they operate in the central and defensive midfield.

So, who comes out on top then? Well, rather unsurprisingly, given the discussion around the Tottenham ace's performances for two-thirds of last season, it's Wolves' £50m "box-crasher", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, who comes out on top in this match-up, and unfortunately for the Lilywhites star, it's not even close.

For example, in most relevant metrics for a six, the Rio de Janeiro-born ace comes out on top, including, but not limited to, tackles won, blocks, clearances, ball recoveries and aerial duels won, all per 90.

A ball recovery is defined by the number of loose balls recovered by a player.

He even comes out ahead in several offensive metrics as well, showing that he can do a bit of everything, such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, actual non-penalty goals plus assists, passes into the penalty area, goal-creating actions and successful take-ons, also all per 90.

Ultimately, considering the trouble that Bissouma has caused Spurs off the pitch this season and the fact his underlying numbers were notably worse than Gomes' last season, signing the Brazilian to replace him before the window slams shut next week sounds like a brilliant idea.

While their campaign didn't get off to the best of starts on Monday night, Tottenham Hotspur have a massive season ahead of them in the Premier League this year.

Ange Postecoglou is no longer the new guy, and there is an expectation that after a busy summer in which the club have spent well over £100m on new players, he'll lead them back into the Champions League.

However, while Daniel Levy and Co have already splashed the cash this year, recent reports have touted even more players for a move to N17, including one who's won comparisons to Manchester United new boy Matthijs de Ligt, although he could spell trouble for Destiny Udogie.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from Spain, Tottenham are one of several clubs interested in signing Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie.

The report claims that, alongside the Lilywhites, Liverpool and Atlético Madrid are incredibly keen to land the versatile 22-year-old this summer, meaning a bidding war could soon erupt.

The story does not mention a potential price, but separate reports from earlier this month revealed that a fee of around £50m could tempt the German champions into selling.

It would be a complicated and costly transfer to get done, but given Hincapie's form last season, positional versatility, and comparisons to De Ligt, it is one well worth making, although Udogie might not welcome it.

How Hincapie compares to De Ligt and why he could challenge Udogie

Okay, so before we look at how Hincapie could compete with Udogie for a place in the starting lineup at Spurs, let's examine this comparison to De Ligt and where it comes from.

It primarily stems from FBref, which compared all centre-backs in the Bundesliga last season, created a list of the ten most similar players for each one, and concluded that the Dutchman was the fifth most similar centre-back to the Leverkusen ace in the league.

You can see their similarities in how closely they rank for specific underlying metrics, including but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive passes, shots on target, passing accuracy and ball recoveries, all per 90.

A ball recovery is defined by the number of loose balls recovered by a player.

So, it's clear then from his comparison to United's new defensive stalwart that, as a centre-back, the "tenacious" 22-year-old star, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is immensely gifted, but that is not the reason he's going to threaten Udogie's place in the team, the reason he could do that is the fact that he's an accomplished full-back as well.

Throughout his career, he has started 89 games at centre-back, 39 at left-back, and another 12 in left midfield, which should help him feel more at home attacking from the full-back position.

It's not just at club level where the "future legend", as dubbed by Kulig, has played there either, as he started there for all four of Ecuador's games at the Copa América this year and even picked up a freak assist in the team's 3-1 win over Jamaica in the group stage.

It's this quality experience at playing at left-back that could see the Esmeraldas-born gem really challenge the Lilywhites' talented Italian prospect because, as things stand, he doesn't have any genuine competition in the squad, which isn't ideal for fostering a competitive spirit within the team.

Ultimately, Udogie proved that he's one of the most exciting young full-backs in the Premier League last season, but players need competition to thrive, and based on his performances over the last few years, Hincapie could be that competition - the comparison to De Ligt is just a nice bonus.

While their opening game of the Premier League season away to Leicester City didn't go as planned, it's been a relatively positive summer for Tottenham Hotspur this year.

Daniel Levy and Co started the transfer window slowly, but with just two weeks to go, they have brought in several incredibly exciting youngsters, like Archie Gray, Yang Min-Hyeok and Wilson Odobert, and the exceptionally talented Dominic Solanke.

However, it's not all about the incomings, as the North Londoners have sold relatively well so far this summer as well, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg joining Marseille on a loan deal with an obligation to buy for £17m, Emerson Royal moving to AC Milan for around £13m, and most recently, academy graduate Oliver Skipp sealing his £25m move to Leicester City.

The talented ace leaves the North Londoners having played for his boyhood club and with the good wishes of the fanbase, and while he made the team a sizeable profit, he's still worth considerably less than one of Ange Postecoglou's most important midfielders.

Skipp's Tottenham career

Now, there might be some out there who think that the fee Leicester paid for Skipp this week was excessive, but based on his body of work for Spurs, his age and future potential, it's more than fair.

For example, since making his debut for the North Londoners in a League Cup tie against West Ham United in October 2018, the Welwyn Garden City-born midfielder went on to make a total of 106 first-team appearances before moving to the King Power, in which he scored one goal and provided two assists.

Described as a "fabulous" player by former England manager Glenn Hoddle earlier this season, the 23-year-old's price tag was also slightly elevated by the fact that his contract with Tottenham was set to run until the summer of 2027, giving them the power to ask for what they wanted.

However, with plenty of top-flight experience under his belt and a long career ahead of him, Steve Cooper's side have still got their hands on a quality player. That said, one of his former competitors back in N17, who now has even less of a barrier to the first team, is worth millions more.

Pape Matar Sarr's valuation in 2024

Yes, the midfielder in question is Pape Matar Sarr, who signed for Spurs at 18 years old from Ligue 1 side Metz in the summer of 2021 for around £15m, although he didn't actually move to North London until the summer of 2022.

According to Transfermarkt, his value has now shot up to at least €45m, which converts to around £38m, meaning he's worth at least £13m more than Skipp, and considering he's still just 21 years old, that valuation is likely to be even higher in a couple of years.

Now, some may think it's a somewhat excessive price tag to place upon a youngster's head, but over the last year or so, he has proven why it's not.

For example, he made 35 appearances for the Lilywhites last season, starting 19 games in central midfield and 12 in defensive midfield, all while racking up three goals and three assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 5.83 games.

Moreover, he has already won 24 senior caps for Senegal, in which he has scored once and provided two assists, proving U23 scout Antonio Mango correct in his assertion that he's "so good at football it's frightening."

Ultimately, while it's still very early on in his career, Sarr looks destined for the very top of the game, and therefore it's hard to argue that his lofty valuation isn't justified.