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Tottenham’s Champions League qualification could loosen the purse strings for Ange Postecoglou

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Tottenham Hotspur had to wait 17 years and four finals to win a trophy, so they could be forgiven if Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy delay a couple of days before diving back into the club’s plans for the summer transfer window.

But that long-awaited victory over Manchester United to lift the Europa League means there’s now a Champions League campaign to prepare for as well as the inevitable push to improve on sitting one place above the Premier League relegation zone. The good news is that the windfall from Bilbao could rise above £100m, and bringing in a world class striker would be a bold statement of intent to signal a new, aggressive and trophy-laden era at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Victor Osimhen’s protracted and at times head-scratching transfer saga has meant several clubs including Chelsea and PSG have cooled their interest in the 26-year-old. Manchester United are still keen but without the carrot of European football, or the associated boost in transfer budget, this £63 million situation is ripe for an old-fashioned hijack.

How Victor Osimhen can help Spurs reach the next level

Despite the ridicule about their bare trophy cabinet, Tottenham have been one of the most stable Premier League clubs of the last 15 years. Prior to this season, only Manchester City had recorded more Premier League top-seven finishes since 2009/10 while Spurs have also moved up from 15th in the Deloitte Money League to be ever-present in the top 10 since the opening of their new stadium. You’ll never sing that.

But before the final whistle in Bilbao, some Tottenham fans would’ve traded all of that for West Ham’s turbulent decade-and-a-half that at least netted them the Conference League in 2023. Now with the money-spinning spaceship of a stadium and a manager famed for his track record of winning trophies, times could finally be about to change and Osimhen’s arrival would reinforce that feeling.

While he’s not quite Harry Kane in terms of dropping deep to link build-up play, Osimhen would still be a useful outlet for Postecoglou’s side and his famed athleticism would suit an otherwise lightweight Tottenham team well. Their entire system is designed to create space in front of or between opposition back-lines through lightning link-up play and there can be few better players in world football to receive the ball on the edge of the penalty area facing a stretched defence.

Spurs also excel on the break and have scored the second-most goals from counter attacks this Premier League season - with Osimhen they’d be hard to keep away from top spot. The Nigerian’s hefty £400,000-a-week wage demands wouldn’t be a natural fit for the infamously frugal Daniel Levy, but the opportunity to land Tottenham’s biggest-name signing in at least a generation who’s hit 112 goals since 2020 shouldn’t be passed up lightly.

After a rough final season at Napoli in terms of fitness, Osimhen has missed just six games at Galatasaray through injury to ease understandable concerns about how he’d fare in Postecoglou’s punishing system. And as a further bonus, don’t forget that the next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2027 will take place in June rather than January so there isn’t even that absence to consider.

The release clause that plays in Tottenham Hotspurs’ favour

Osimhen has a €75 million release clause but that only applies to clubs outside of Italy, a detail with the ability to put Tottenham in pole position for the race to capture Osimhen. Manchester United were pursuing Osimhen but Brennan Johnson’s 42nd-minute goal may have dealt the Red Devils a double-blow, as Ruben Amorim was already questioning the likelihood of affording Osimhen’s wage demands before the final.

Now Manchester United are confirmed as missing out on European football for the second time in 35 years, that deal is likely dead in the water especially with Viktor Gyokeres willing to work for half that salary. Likewise Chelsea have been put off by Osimhen’s wage demands even as they control their fate for Champions League qualification and have the chance to land a major bonus of £100m if they perform well at the expanded Club World Cup this summer.

The Blues are favouring an approach in the transfer market akin to the philosophy that’s fired PSG to the Champions League final: still spend big but on a young core that will flourish together, rather than building an all-star team of established players. Guaranteeing Osimhen one of the highest salaries in European football would also shatter Chelsea’s wage structure.

That means Juventus would be Spurs’ biggest rivals, but Postecoglou is aided by Osimhen’s release clause not applying to Serie A clubs. That means the Old Lady is preparing a €85m bid for the star Super Eagle, but sending the 2022/23 Paolo Rossi Award winner abroad may still be the more attractive option to Napoli and Tottenham should be ready to pounce if that’s the case.

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Pedro Porro could leave Spurs this summer - but they may have an ideal replacement lined up already.

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Just how many players do Tottenham Hotspur need to sign in the summer transfer window? The answer isn’t immediately obvious. There’s plenty of talent in the Spurs squad, but the whole has added up to far less than the sum of its parts this season – and then there’s the question of who might leave.

One important player who has been linked with a move away from North London over the coming months is Pedro Porro. It goes without saying that Ange Postecoglou (or whoever ends up in charge in a few months’ time) would rather have the Portuguese right-back on the books, but recent reports hint at the possibility that several elite sides have him on their shortlists.

That means that Spurs could be considering a contingency plan – and a new story from GiveMeSport suggests that they may have a new wing-back in mind, with a potential price tag of £30-35m.

Spurs ‘tracking’ Vanderson as Pedro Porro replacement

The player that Spurs are alleged to be tracking is AS Monaco’s Brazilian right-back Vanderson, who has five caps for his national team and a burgeoning reputation as one of the best all-round players in his position in Europe.

GiveMeSport’s article suggests that Spurs would want the 23-year-old to provide Porro with competition, but given that we’re likely to see significant expenditure in other positions, especially up front, it’s more probable that such a substantial transfer only takes place if Porro leaves, especially given the impressive late-season resurgence enjoyed by Djed Spence.

The link with Vanderson isn’t new, with reports that he was on Spurs’ radar dating back at least as far as last summer, and his continued positive progress with Monaco will only have served to increase their interest. Still, right-back will only become a position of urgent need if Porro is lured away.

While Vanderson is noted as a genuine all-rounder who contributes in all three thirds, it’s his defensive work which stands out, especially in a concerted high press. Never one to shy away from a chance to make a tackle, he has made 45 successful tackles in Ligue 1 this season at a hugely impressive 71.4% success rate. Few full-backs can boast such impressive numbers, and he’s excellent in one-on-one situations while closing the space opposing wingers have in effective fashion.

He's also blessed with the speed and work rate to find plenty of space for himself going forward and has the technical quality to beat his man one-on-one relatively reliably, making him a dangerous player on the counter-attack and a right-back who can not only force turnovers but get the ball back downfield quickly and efficiently.

He creates a healthy – but not remarkable – number of chances with respectably accurate crossing and a decent eye for a pass, but his overall output in the final third (two goals and five assists in all competitions this season) is good rather than great.

For a team to get the best out of him, they would want to play an aggressive, pressing style of football which looks to generate quick opportunities for counter-play and which has high-class attacking players ahead of him that he can tee up to finish the job. As it happens, that’s a fair description of Spurs’ style of play under Postecoglou, even if those high-end attacking players spend rather too much time injured.

Will Pedro Porro leave Tottenham this summer?

Still, Spurs’ interest in Vanderson may be academic if Porro stays put. Four teams have been linked with him in recent months, however – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

It seems unlikely that either of the Spanish sides make a move. Real seem set to land Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer and Barcelona are only likely to bid for a full-back if Jules Koundé leaves. The Frenchman has been rumoured to be of interest to a handful of team, with Chelsea’s name routinely cropping up, but the newly-reinstated La Liga champions seem determined to keep Koundé around.

Manchester City are on the hunt for a permanent replacement for Kyle Walker, but may prioritise other targets such as Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso. Normally a left-back at his current club, Cambiaso can play on either flank and if he moved to the Etihad, then City may view the right-back issue as solved between him and Rico Lewis.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, have Konrad Laimer installed as right-back and are already doing their best to spend as much as £100m on Florian Wirtz. If that deal goes through, then they are unlikely to have much spending power left to cover a bid for a player like Porro, who could cost as much as £60m.

In short, it remains likely that Porro stays put given the state of the current market and the fact that he still has three years left on his Spurs contract. The club are in a strong negotiating position and could hold out for more money than any of the interested parties are willing to spend – but dominoes could fall in such a way that the situation changes quickly.

If Porro does leave, Vanderson seems to be a strong candidate to be his replacement, and previous stories have suggested that he would cost around half as much as Spurs would get from the sale of Porro, undeniably a good deal given that Vanderson would not be likely to prove a downgrade.

The biggest stumbling block should Spurs make a move is that other teams could be interested as well. GiveMeSport suggest that Manchester United are also among the suitors for the Brazilian, while Manchester City and Barcelona are mentioned too, although their interest may be irrelevant given that they would surely only move for Vanderson if they didn’t bid for Porro.

As it stands, the likelihood is that Porro stays put and Spurs prioritise other players this summer – but if they do end up with the Monaco right-back on their books, the chances are that they’ll be content with their business in the long run, even if it meant losing one of the more reliable performers in their current side. Spurs have an impressive recent history when it comes to right-backs, from Porro and Walker to Kieran Trippier, and Vanderson could easily continue that tradition.

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Spurs are once again being linked with a transfer bid for Eberechi Eze - but would he be the right signing for a side in need of some inspiration?

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For some months now, Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a bid for Crystal Palace and England’s Eberechi Eze – but after endless entries in gossip columns without any hint of actual negotiations, are we finally getting close to a point at which Eze leaves Selhurst Park? And does he even make sense for Spurs to sign?

Is Eberechi Eze a good fit for Tottenham Hotspur?

The link between Eze and Spurs may be old, but it’s been thrust back into the spotlight not just because of how close we are to the opening of another transfer window but because of the 26-year-old’s stellar recent form.

Having scored six goals in his past seven games – including some quite brilliant strikes and one in the FA Cup semi-final victory over Aston Villa – Eze has put a relatively slow start to the season firmly in the rear view mirror and re-established his reputation as a serious threat, both as a creator and destroyer.

Out of the entire Spurs squad, only Son Heung-Min can surpass Eze’s tally of eight Premier League assists and not a single player in Ange Postecoglou’s squad has contributed towards creating more shooting opportunities. At the same time, only three Spurs players have scored more goals in the Premier League than Eze’s eight.

On that level alone, it’s easy to see why Spurs would be keen. Eze offers technical quality, audacity and effectiveness in equal measure, and is able both to generate chances and take players on while carrying the ball to a degree that few other Spurs players can offer at the same time, while being a genuine goal threat in his own right. The issue is that if Spurs were to sign Eze, it would either mean that James Maddison was displaced from his number ten spot despite being one of Spurs’ best performers, or that there would have to be a tactical recalibration.

Eze is more than capable of playing down the left wing, but when operating there the Greenwich-born player takes up considerably deeper, narrower positions than that occupied by Son Heung-Min – who, despite a relatively tepid season and advancing years, may be another player that Spurs are loathe to relegate to a rotational role too quickly. To accommodate Eze, either Spurs would need to re-imagine their attacking system to generate more width and threat from the full-back position and perhaps reposition Maddison, or ask either Eze or Maddison to play out of position.

That could work, but it would be an unusual move to pay top dollar for Eze – and given that he is under contract at Selhurst Park until 2027, it would be top dollar – and then play him outside of his favoured role. There is, of course, every chance that Spurs have a new manager come the summer, with Ange Postecoglou under immense pressure after a poor league campaign, and a new coach may want to set Spurs up in a very different manner anyway, perhaps one into which Eze, Son and Maddison could slot in a more comfortable manner. But as it stands, signing Eze could mean making a very hard decision concerning the future of one of his new team-mates.

Will Spurs sign Eberechi Eze this summer?

Any discussion of Eze’s role at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium becomes rather academic if Spurs don’t actually sign him – and while the rumour mill is keen to make the connection and the interest appears to be genuine, there are no assurances that a deal will be struck.

While stories linking Eze with Spurs are perhaps more persistent and even plausible than those linking him to other teams, there are no shortage of suggestions that other Premier League sides are keeping tabs on him – Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs, in particular, are often mentioned as prospective suitors.

Given that Spurs have endured a difficult season, they may find it hard to offer a more attractive landing spot then those who finished considerably further up the league table. Champions League football, with the club will get if they beat Manchester United in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Bilbao, would help.

Then there are the financial considerations. The Daily Telegraph recently reported that Spurs are set to operate under a “sell to buy” policy this summer, with the club in possession of a £279m net transfer debt. In what the Telegraph speculate could be a “tough window” for Tottenham, spending up to £68m on Eze (the totality of the release clause in his deal with Palace, which they are likely to want paid in full) may not be straightforward.

The sales of players such as Richarlison and Timo Werner would help, but are unlikely to cover the outlay entirely, and with Maddison and Son in the squad it may be deemed untenable to spend such a significant amount on a player who would be competing with two of Spurs’ best attacking players for minutes.

Still, the stories endure and it’s clear that Spurs would love to add Eze to their ranks if the cards fall the right way – and while there are pragmatic arguments against signing the Crystal Palace player, at least at such a high price point, his thrilling combination of qualities would undeniably lift the spirits at a club who could do with a pick-me-up.

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Tottenham will look to add some big name additions if they can secure Champions League qualification

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It’s been nearly five years since Amazon’s last Tottenham Hotspur documentary, but few games have encapsulated the meaning of All or Nothing more than Spurs’ upcoming Europa League final with Manchester United. The winner will be handed the lifeline of a European trophy and around £10.95m in prize money, marking not only a healthy PSR boost but also a huge lifeline in the form of Champions League qualification and the player-pulling power that comes with that status.

Spurs last qualified for the Champions League in 2022/23 and haven’t experienced the highs of a European honour since 1984. They have fallen short in their last three major cup finals and are chasing their first piece of silverware since winning the League Cup with Juande Ramos in 2008.

It’s a trophy that would not only put Spurs back on the right track after a dismal campaign but could also act as the saving grace behind Ange Postecoglou’s future.

Failure to win of course, would be the opposite of almost all that’s just been mentioned, but if Tottenham can defeat the Red Devils for the fourth time this season, they’ll be handed a golden opportunity to capitalise in the transfer market.

The bold transfer race Tottenham should look to enter

Mail Sport have claimed that Real Madrid star Rodrygo no longer wants to play for the club due to an issue involving Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe. The Brazilian didn’t feature during the weekend’s 4-3 defeat to Barcelona and it’s reported the 24-year-old will look to follow future national team boss Carlo Ancelotti out of the door this summer.

Quite how true these reports are remains to be seen but there’s certainly a chance that the two-time Champions League winner will look for a new challenge next summer. Too many cooks, and all that. Reports have suggested that both Arsenal and Liverpool are interested in signing Rodrygo in the summer transfer window. Football Insider have claimed that Madrid could demand in the region of £85m to allow him to depart, which could deter potential suitors.

Arsenal ideally will look to prioritise a centre forward while Liverpool are scouring the market for reinforcements at both right-back and left-back following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s imminent departure.

WATCH: The Premier League Panel: Which teams will get better or worse next season

This could open the door for Spurs to make a bold but ambitious approach for a player that would almost certainly improve the team’s attacking options and potentially offer the team a long-term solution to Heung Min-Son after his subdued season. Meeting Real Madrid’s demands could be challenging for the north London side, but there’s one cheeky trick they could have up their sleeve, providing the player himself would actually be interested in the move.

The unbelievable swap deal Spurs could look to strike

Sun Sport suggest Real Madrid will target Cristian Romero this summer to help rebuild the backline. Incoming manager Xabi Alonso is reported to be a fan of the Argentine defender and World Cup winner, who he believes would fit in well to his preferred three-at-the-back formation.

Romero has been at Tottenham for four seasons in total but has been limited to just 18 games this term due to injury. The 27-year-old is reported by Football Insider to be valued at around £50m.

This could potentially lead to Spurs offering around £35m to get their hands on Rodrgyo with Romero as a makeweight to help facilitate the deal. It’s potentially a dream scenario for the capital club, who would no doubt welcome the Brazilian international with open arms; whether it’s feasible, however, remains to be seen.

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Manchester United, Manchester City and Spurs starlets are among the climbers as we rank the best young players in the Premier League.

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Over the past few weeks, the Wonderkid Power Rankings – 3 Added Minutes’ weekly attempt to rank the ten best young players in the Premier League on recent form – has found itself split into two.

In the top half of the table, a handful of players who perform consistently well despite their young ages, led last week by reigning number one Myles Lewis-Skelly. In the bottom half, a ceaseless churn as some of the top flight’s most talented Under-21s see their form and opportunities ebb and flow. The pattern continues this week, with a familiar top five and plenty of movement beneath them.

We’ve got no fewer than two brand new entries this week, both players we might have expected to see earlier in the season given the hype they received upon arrival but who are finally proving their worth, while a player who was a staple of the top half of our little table in the first six months of the season makes his way back at long last.

All of which means that three players drop out of last week’s rankings: Yankuba Minteh was largely anonymous against Wolves, while Jack Hinshelwood only got the briefest of late cameos from the bench, which we believe makes this the first Top 10 of the season with no Brighton players in it. They’re joined on the outside by Nico O’Reilly, whose brilliant blast of form has rather worn off. They’ll all be back at some point, we’re sure, even if it’s next season.

The Frenchman arrived with a reputation as one of the brightest talents in the global game, but struggled to make the kind of mark many of us expected – and while two goals and one assist in his last ten matches may not be a startling return on paper, he’s quietly settling in nicely at Spurs and getting more dangerous by the game, especially with the ball at his feet. He also put in a huge and entirely unrewarded shift in the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend, winning 11 ground duels and forcing five turnovers. It was arguably the best defensive performance in our Top 10 this week. Not his job, perhaps, but worth rewarding after consistent improvements.

Just last week, we were praising the Argentine winger for finding some of his old confidence again – so it tracks that he’d instantly return to more frustrating form, with a tougher week headlined by a fairly glaring miss against Athletic Club, chipping tamely wide when one-on-one with the goalkeeper. A presentable chance from a tight angle went begging after he came on as a sub against West Ham, too. The good last week, the bad this, hopefully no ugly to follow.

Given how much money United spent on the teenage centre-half last summer, they probably expected him to be a more consistently impactful performer this season – but he’s finally starting to get there in earnest, playing well for several games in a row and even picking up an assist in the Europa League, driving into the box before laying the ball off to Mason Mount. There was plenty of rock-solid defending, too, both against Athletic and West Ham, where he barely put a foot wrong in the largely unnoticed way you want from a defender. Promising stuff after a slow start.

Kayode didn’t have an entirely blemish-free game against Ipswich Town and was guilty of being beaten a little too easily on the dribble, but this was still a good all-round game from another recent signing who’s starting to hit his stride in the Premier League. He was at his best going forward, missing a decent chance wide left but creating even better opportunities on a couple of occasions. Dynamic going forward, if he can tighten up one-on-one at the back then Brentford will have one hell of a player on their hands.

For months, Lewis was an absolute staple of our Top 10s and there was an argument that the 20-year-old was one of the most consistent players in the league, of any age. Then he started to slide, got benched more and more, and has only recently begun to force his way back into the starting line-up again. He was doing everything right in the miserable 0-0 draw against Southampton, though, using the ball well, passing and moving intelligently and economically, and letting very little get past him. The result may have been poor, but that was the Lewis we saw for the first four months or so of the season, and have missed since.

It’s a little harsh on Fernandes to dock him a place after another gutsy midfield display in that same 0-0 draw which helped the Saints to avoid being the official worst team in Premier League history – he falls to five less because of his failings and more because others were a little better.

It perhaps says a bit about Southampton’s strikers that his passes were worth more expected goals than his team actually managed in total (in other words, he presented chances which were immediately made harder or simply didn’t result in a shot) – and his one shot was worth 70% of the xG they did create. Stats are strange things, but the long and short of it is that Fernandes represented virtually all of his team’s attacking output while working very hard when off the ball as well.

It was a good week for the Danish left-back, who not only helped his team into a European final but was also one of the few players in a red shirt to emerge with any real credit from the 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Sunday.

He was involved in several dangerous attacks against Athletic Club, playing a key part in the build-up to United’s third goal of the night, and made four tackles in a match in which he was tested very regularly indeed. Coming on as a second-half replacement against the Hammers he wasn’t able to make the same inroads in attack but completed every attempted pass and won every single duel he found himself in. A very good purchase by United, which is a sentence that hasn’t been written many times this season.

In the first leg of Arsenal’s eventual Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Lewis-Skelly was arguably the Gunners’ best player. In the second leg, he found the going a little tougher, with the admittedly amazing Désiré Doué giving the England international a pretty hard time.

Lewis-Skelly mostly stood up to it pretty well but he was shakier than usual, less dynamic going forward, and was unfortunate enough to give away a penalty after a rather undeniable handball. He was, at least, rather more solid against Liverpool, dealing with Mohamed Salah without any serious scares even if he wasn’t able to make much of a contribution in the final third.

Lewis-Skelly’s rough evening in France was, we decided, enough to drop him below the reliably impressive Kerkez, who was responsible for a fair amount of Bournemouth’s better attacking moments against Aston Villa even if they ultimately didn’t produce any goals.

He was excellent defensively, too, a real area of improvement this season for the Hungarian, and virtually nothing got past him across the 90 minutes as he produced four turnovers, largely blunting Villa’s threat down their right – the goal may have come from that flank, but Kerkez was both blameless and helpless on that occasion. Kerkez hasn’t been uprooting any trees lately, but he has been pretty much faultless week in, week out.

It says something about the Cherries’ recruitment over the past couple of years that Kerkez can be as consistently good as he has been without even being his team’s most reliable young defender. Spanish international Huijsen was, once again, equal to everything that was thrown at him.

The lanky defender made no fewer than 10 clearances on this occasion, didn’t miss a tackle and his distribution of the ball – uncharacteristically iffy over the past fortnight or so – was much better, with most of his many long passes finding their mark as Huijsen worked to generate counter-attacking opportunities. A magnificent talent who has hardly had a bad game since forcing his way into Andoni Iraola’s first team, and he rightly returns to our top spot once more.

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Assessing the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Liverpool, Spurs, West Ham and more.

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It’s time for your Tuesday morning round-up of all the biggest and juiciest new Premier League transfer stories – and we’re going to kick things off up at Anfield, where a big-money player could be set to move on.

Sport Witness report on rumours from Italy which suggest that Serie A side Napoli are in “ongoing” talks with Liverpool over a deal for much-maligned striker Darwin Núñez just two years after his £85m move to Merseyside.

Napoli’s preferred signing would be Lille’s Jonathan David, but the agent’s fees are proving a stumbling block leading to a “parallel negotiation” over the Uruguayan forward. The Reds, meanwhile, are unsurprisingly keen to get rid of a player who has not lived up to his transfer fee.

In other Liverpool transfer news, TBR Football claim that Arne Slot’s side have sent scouts to watch £11m-rated Bologna defender Jhon Lucumi, with an “active interest” in the Colombian that is mirrored by Juventus and Inter Milan.

The 3AM Verdict: Napoli are one of several sides on the striker carousel this summer, and until the first few deals get over the line it’s impossible to meaningfully predict which forwards will go where – Darwin included. One club negotiating doesn’t mean that a deal will get done to move him on. The Lucumi link is new to us, so one to monitor rather than to have any strong belief or disbelief in for now.

Tottenham Hotspur ready to sell star for right price

While Pedro Porro has been “on the radar” of several European sides over the past few months, Spurs had always shown little inclination to sell the right-back – but that may be changing, according to Caught Offside.

They claim that Tottenham could “change their mind” and sell the Portuguese star for a fee of around €60-65m (£50-55m) if such an offer is made by one of the interested parties, such as Barcelona or Bayern Munich.

The article even claims that Manchester City are “monitoring” Porro, a rumour we haven’t seen in a little while amid suggestions that Pep Guardiola was really after Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso to plug the hole at full-back. No suggestion that any official offers have been made, here.

The 3AM Verdict: We suspect that most of the teams who could conceivably afford Porro either don’t need him or are focusing their interest on other players, so our guess is that Porro probably stays put. The question is whether he will try to agitate for a move after a difficult season for the North London side, but there are no signs of that happening just yet.

West Ham in contact over Champions League finalist

Finally, a word from GiveMeSport, who suggest that another London side hoping to bounce back from a disappointing campaign – West Ham United – have “shown an interest” in Inter Milan defender Yann Bisseck, a regular starter for the Champions League finalists.

Despite being an important player and relatively new to the club, however, Inter are said to be “open” to a deal should they “receive the right bid” – not that there’s any word on what the actual asking price might be for the Germany international.

The article’s headline uses the phrase “make contact” to describe West Ham’s involvement in any potential move but there is no claim made of negotiations with the player or with Inter elsewhere in the story, so it’s less than clear as to how advanced the Hammers’ interest might be.

The 3AM Verdict: This is the second time we’ve seen West Ham linked with Bisseck in recent weeks, so there’s a relatively large amount of smoke over a move that would represent a serious coup. If Inter are selling, however, we expect interest from other clubs, so West Ham may have to pay top dollar. Likely to be worth it, however…

A bold player swap deal that could benefit both Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

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As we approach the end of a surprising Premier League season, clubs can look back at their performances and approach the summer transfer window as they deem fit.

For former champions Manchester City, securing Champions League football will provide an end-of-season boost but nothing will overturn their disappointing results early on that wrote them out of the title race.

Tottenham Hotspur’s woes have gone from bad to worse, as they are now 17th in the table, with only the relegated teams below them. Spurs are winless in their last five games and can finish the season on a maximum of 43 points.

Despite their defeats, Tottenham haven’t exactly struggled on the goal-scoring front, with 63 on the board so far. Only the top four teams have actually scored more than Spurs this season but they are still keen on signing new options in attack. We’ve pitched a potential swap deal involving Spurs and Man City which would heavily boost both sides this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City could both benefit from swap deal

Tottenham are reportedly interested in signing Jack Grealish this summer, as his hefty fall down the pecking order at the Etihad has opened up an avenue for his potential exit.

The England international could be moved on this summer, with just three goals and five assists on the board all season. His asking price has not been confirmed but a report from the Sunday Mirror in March claimed that AC Milan could move for Grealish this summer with an offer of £40 million, which City would be willing to accept, based on information from Italian sources.

If this figure is accurate, City are expected to make a significant loss on Grealish, having signed him for £100 million in a deal they surely knew would see him only depreciate in value over time. However, they could include the winger in a swap deal to get a target of their own in return.

The former English champions are keen on bringing in Destiny Udogie from Tottenham, who has been impressing with his performances this season. The left-back is a long-standing target of City’s, so they could finally get their man this window.

Is the swap deal likely happen?

From the perspective of the players, this move could actually benefit both parties. Grealish is said to be ‘unhappy’ at City with his reduced role and would benefit from moving to a club where he will start every week.

With Spurs not entirely sold on the impact of Dominic Solanke, they could deploy Son Heung-min up front to allow Grealish to slot into his natural position on the left. Tottenham’s current position may be further down the Premier League table than Grealish might like, but it won’t take much to fine-tune this Spurs side back to their best, and their goal count this season is evidence of that. The only issue that could stand in the way is his hefty wages. If he’s willing to take a cut, it could be a goer.

As for Udogie to City, their lacklustre Premier League season is a mere drop in the ocean when it comes to their transfer lure. At 22, the Italian international will be assessing his career options and looking at where his next move could take him. City are expected to rebuild and bounce back from this disappointing season, so they should by no means be ruled out when it comes to the transfer window.

Pep Guardiola’s side do also have a big chance of winning the FA Cup to patch up their season, which will also put them firmly back on players’ radars.

With the quoted £40 million fee for Grealish and Udogie valued by Transfermarkt at €45 million (£38m), there’s not much to separate the two. Some cash could be exchanged in one way or another to sweeten the deal, but on the surface it balances out pretty well.

Tottenham Hotspur will get the chance to bring in some new players this summer

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Tottenham Hotspur have a rather unexpected European final to look forward to later this month. Ange Postecoglou’s side will face Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao. They saw off Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals over two legs to book their place in Spain, pushing the horrors of their Premier League campaign to one side and motoring their way to within touching distance of their first major trophy since Dominic Solanke was in short trousers.

It has been a relentlessly gruelling season for the London outfit in the Premier League. They were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. Nevertheless, there is light at the end of the tunnel and they will end their trophy drought if they can see off Ruben Amorim’s men. Here is a look at three players they could sign this summer...

Tottenham Hotspur eye Marcus Rashford move

If Spurs win the Europa League, they will, inexplicably to Arsene Wenger for one, be in the Champions League next season. That will boost their chances of signing some high quality players in the next window, with both the allure of premium European football and the mega funds that come from playing in it combining as the perfect cocktail to ensure a fruitful summer of transfer dealing. With that in mind, Marcus Rashford could be an option for them.

Football Transfers have claimed that he is on their radar at the moment. The England international, 27, is on loan at Aston Villa right now from Manchester United and the report suggests they have an option to sign him for £40 million. However, it remains to be seen whether they will, with Villa still to tie up qualification for the aforementioned elite European football competition.

Rashford, who is from Wythenshawe, has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford and it is unlikely that he will return to the Red Devils. That could open the door for other teams to swoop in for his signature over the coming months. With that in mind, Spurs should attempt to snap him up to significantly boost their attacking ranks.

Will Spurs sign Liam Delap this summer?

As well as Rashford, Spurs should also look to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town. As per GiveMeSport, he has emerged on Postecoglou’s wishlist - along with every other Premier League club and their dog - after his impressive campaign at Portman Road. He has a release clause of just £30million which makes it a no-brainer to try and get him.

At the age of 22, he has bags of potential and has a bright future ahead of him. He has scored 12 goals for Kieran McKenna’s men and has stood out in a struggling team. They brought him in just over 12 months after their promotion from the Championship.

Delap was on the books at Manchester City before his switch to Suffolk and scored one goal in six games under Pep Guardiola. He was also loaned out to Preston North End, Stoke City and Hull City to get some experience under his belt. The attacker was a hit with the latter last term before Ipswich came calling. He just might be the Harry Kane successor that both Tottenham and England have been dreaming of.

Tottenham set sights on AFC Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen

Dean Huijsen has made a positive impression since AFC Bournemouth moved to sign him. He has adapted well to life in England and the Cherries are likely to face a battle to keep hold of him, despite the fact he still has plenty of time left on his deal. It is yet to be known at this stage where he could end up going next and there are a few teams in the frame.

Football Insider claim Spurs are one of them and he would be perfect. He would give Postecoglou another option to pick from at the back. They have leaked too many goals in the league this term and need to add more cover at the back, as the Tottenham defence under Postecoglu tend to go through hamstrings as if they were disposable cutlery.

Huijsen has a release clause of £50million which could turn out to be a steal in the future. At the age of 20, he is only going to get better. Prior to going to Bournemouth, he played for Malaga and Juventus and also had a loan spell at Roma in Serie A. Signing him won’t be easy, but landing Huijsen, along with Rashford and Delap, would make Spurs an altogether more formidable beast ahead of the 2025/26 season.

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A round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, with news from Spurs, Liverpool, Leeds and more.

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It’s time for Thursday morning’s round-up of the biggest and juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours, and we’re going to start off at a club who could be very busy indeed over the course of the summer transfer window – Tottenham Hotspur.

According to a report from TBR Football, Spurs have decided to make on-loan forward Mathys Tel their first summer signing and have already “opened talks” with the French wonderkid’s representatives about a permanent move following some improved recent form. This being Spurs, however, it may not be all that straightforward.

While Spurs have a £45m purchase option in the loan agreement that brought Tel across from Bayern Munich back in January, they are “hoping to renegotiate” that clause and want to pay no more than £30m.

Bayern, for their part, are “keen” to sell the talented 20-year-old in order to generate funds and squad space for a deal for Florian Wirtz, who looks increasingly likely to join the Bavarian giants rather than making a move to Manchester City or Real Madrid.

The 3AM Verdict: Depending on how Bayern’s finances look, Daniel Levy may well be able to take advantage of their desperation to buy Wirtz to shave a few pounds off the price for Tel, whose performances have indeed picked up of late. He may not have hit the heights promised when he first signed, but there’s so much talent there that it has to be a worthwhile gamble.

Leeds target ‘phenomenal’ striker signing

Over to Premier League newcomers Leeds United, now – according to a story from GiveMeSport, the Championship champions are interested in making a bid for Jamie Vardy when his Leicester City contract runs down at the end of the season.

The 38-year-old Vardy, described as “truly phenomenal” in the article, scored eight goals in 33 league games this season as Leicester tumbled back down into the second tier but will leave the Foxes on a free at the end of June.

Apparently, Leeds are “not particularly content” with their options up front and want to add Vardy’s experience, seeing him as an “excellent option” with no up-front cost.

The 3AM Verdict: We didn’t really expect Vardy to get many offers from the Premier League, but even at his advanced age he was still Leicester’s best striker this season (low bar to clear, maybe) and could still have a little left in the tank. Not a report we expected, but maybe not such a bad idea.

Liverpool to part ways with player after five years

We’ll wrap up our daily digest with a tale from Football Insider, who claim that Liverpool are “ready to sell” left-back Kostas Tsimikas this summer after five years at Anfield.

Apparently, Liverpool view the Greek defender as “not suitable” for Arne Slot’s squad and will jettison him in order to make way for Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, a deal for whom is “at the top of the list” in the coming months.

At the same time, Liverpool have “cooled their interest” in Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo as they prepare to focus financial resources on a defence which is set to lose Trent Alexander-Arnold. No word, incidentally, on how much Tsimikas may go for or which clubs are keen.

The 3AM Verdict: Given that it was widely expected that Liverpool would try to sell Tsimikas this summer, this feels more like speculation that a story based on fresh information – otherwise, we’d expect to see hints of potential suitors or an asking price. Still, we do suspect that the 28-year-old Tsimikas’ time at Liverpool is drawing to a close, with a full-back refresh on the cards.

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Aston Villa have complained after their match against Spurs was moved - but as fans suffer, the blame is being misplaced.

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Football has rapidly become a sport in which every last molehill must instantly become a mountain – and the excessive anger over the Premier League’s decision to move Aston Villa’s match against Tottenham Hotspur is another fine example. Still, there are a handful of people who have every right to feel rather aggrieved, even if they aren’t the only ones doing the complaining.

To recap: Spurs asked for their match against Villa, originally set to be played on Sunday 18 May, to be brought forward to give them more time to rest up ahead of a possible Europa League final the following Thursday. The Premier League agreed, shifting the game from Sunday to Friday 16 May, and a ruckus was born. It’s also a ruckus which perhaps distracts from the fact that if anyone deserves to have generate some anger and frustration, it’s the clubs themselves...

Why moving Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur makes sense for footballing reasons

According to Aston Villa’s director of footballing operations Damian Vidagany, the decisions represents a “clear prejudice” against the club’s fans – a comment in a social media post which hints at the disproportionate reaction to the decision.

Vidagany described himself as “not happy” with the decision, but from a strictly footballing perspective the cost to his club is minimal, if it even exists. Had the move disadvantaged them compared to their rivals for a place in the Champions League next season, it would have been unreasonable, but it’s tricky to see how that could be the case when Chelsea are also playing that very same Friday.

Villa will, ultimately, play the same number of Premier League matches against the same opponents over the same time frame. Their recovery window between games shifts slightly, but being asked to play Saturday, Friday and then Sunday scarcely seems especially unreasonable. By the standards of an overloaded schedule, it’s an entirely benign sequence of matches.

Vidagany claims in his social media post that the Premier League considered moving the match into midweek rather than to the Friday, and that would have changed the dynamic considerably – but as it didn’t happen, it seems strange to complain about a course of action that was considered but then rejected. The correct call was ultimately made.

Should Manchester United and Spurs both make it through to the Europa League final, then the fixture change will, if anything, make the remainder of the season a little fairer on the whole. TV selections had given United two days more to rest and prepare for a potential Europa League final in Bilbao, after all, which would surely have proven to be an edge given how little the two English sides in the running have left to play for in the league.

It may seem presumptuous, of course, for Spurs or any other team to request a match be rescheduled based on qualifying for a final that they haven’t yet reached. Spurs still have to head to Bodø and keep a two-goal aggregate lead safe. It would, let’s face it, be in character for them to blow it.

But these decisions have to be made in advance, after all. Policing and logistical issues mean that waiting until their place in the final at San Mamés was fully secure would have been too long. There’s potential for a degree of embarrassment, but Spurs’ request wasn’t born of ego but of practicality. Now, should the likely Anglocentric Europa League final come to fruition, the playing field will be truly level. At least, for everyone except for the fans.

Why Villa have no right to complain as fans are once again left to suffer

Vidagany may have detected “clear prejudice” against Aston Villa and its supporters, but that doesn’t mean his radar was working perfectly. It’s become all too standardised for clubs, fans and media alike to assume that any decision they dislike is the consequence of bias, whether it’s from the officials or authorities, and it’s becoming a distinctly tedious part of modern footballing discourse.

There is, of course, no prejudice against Aston Villa, or its supporters. This isn’t personal, and the decision would have been applied evenly had Spurs been up against another team. That doesn’t mean that disagreeing with it is a bad thing, but using the language of conspiracy to frame an unpopular decision only damages the chances of a rational, meaningful conversation taking place.

The comments beneath Vidagany’s social media post make it pretty clear that he stoked the flames successfully. There are always fans prepared to believe that the world is out to get them or that there is an agenda against their team, and it’s not an attitude that helps anyone or achieves much except for placing chips on shoulders where they have no need to be and creating arguments and needless tensions.

Some of Villa’s frustration is a result of the Premier League’s refusal to move a match against Liverpool from February to March earlier this season, during a period in which Villa, competing on several fronts, faced the need to play five matches in 14 days.

At the time, Villa asked for the game to be moved to March, before the international break – but there was no gap in the calendar, as Villa would have found out when the game against Liverpool was moved again due to the two teams’ commitments in the knock-out rounds of the Champions League. Villa had essentially asked for the impossible. Now, Spurs have asked for something which doesn’t contradict the absurdly busy football calendar.

In short, the Premier League saying yes to one and no to the other isn’t evidence of unfair treatment but simply that there were two different questions being asked. The schedule is ridiculous, and made Villa’s progress through the late winter period especially arduous, but they weren’t singled out for punitive treatment – rather, they were victims of their numerous recent successes.

Still, as mentioned earlier, while this decision doesn’t screw over Villa or Spurs, it does screw over fans on both sides. How many non-refundable hotel rooms or advanced rail tickets had been purchased? How many plans made by fans and families who now won’t be able to go as the game falls on a work day?

There’s every argument to be made that the Premier League needs to prioritise the needs (and, in the current climate, expenses) of ordinary football fans over creating a fractionally fairer sporting environment – and the point should be made to Sky Sports, too. After all, it was their decision to imbalance that weekend by putting Manchester United on a Friday and Spurs on a Sunday.

The Premier League should, perhaps, take back some control of TV scheduling in future broadcasting deals to help avoid scenarios like this, or it could put provisions in place to deal with such possible situations sooner rather than later. As it is, fans are being asked to change their plans less than two weeks out.

Changing the date of the game isn’t ridiculous in its own right, but doing so at such late notice is, and some few supporters will be in a bind as a result – from Villa and Spurs alike. It would be nice if the needs of travelling supporters ever came first, but the game seldom puts them first these days.

But if Vidagany and the rest of Villa’s board remain concerned about the unfair treatment of their own fans, perhaps they could start by not raising season ticket prices further after they increased in cost by 91% over the last decade, the most of any team in the Premier League? Maybe Vidagany could ask why Villa doubled the price of disabled parking spaces outside Villa Park last September?

For all his complaints about “prejudice” against Villa fans, it’s their own club that gouge them the hardest, and that most often ride roughshod over their needs in order to earn some extra cash. Not a problem unique to Aston Villa, by any stretch, but it makes their complaints particularly laughable. The conspiracy against fans comes from the clubs they support, not referees or The FA or the media.