Tottenham are reportedly planning a £20million move for a highly sought-after midfielder who once turned down the chance to sign for north London rivals Arsenal.
After finishing fifth last time in the Premier League, Tottenham are making some interesting signings ahead of the new campaign.
Leeds United academy gem Archie Gray joined for a fee that could rise to £40m, Spurs shelled out £65m for Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke and winger Wilson Odobert swapped Burnley for Angel’s side Postecoglou for a payout in the region of £25 million.
Along with scouting midfielders Lucas Bergvall of Djurgarden and Yang Min-Hyeok of Gangwon FC respectively; Spurs look smart for 2024/25.
On the other hand, they have noticed that several players are leaving permanently, such as Emerson Royal, Ivan Perisic, Tanguy Ndombele, Joe Rodon and Eric Dier, or are on loan, such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Bryan Gil.
Although many of them were on the sidelines, some were still figures to come off the bench. And if they need to raise the ratings this season, they may need more quality additions.
On Thursday, manager Postecoglou said of the option to close more deals: “Look, I think even if it’s open, there’s still a little bit of uncertainty because there’s a lot of moving parts, you know, it’s not fair, there’s it’s expenses and revenue.
“Unlike last year, when there were a lot more moving parts, we’re running on a sort of narrower spectrum of uncertainty, for me, at least, who can plan the season knowing that most of the paintings are already finished.
“Whatever we get from here on out is probably not too detrimental to us, either inward or outward. So, from that perspective, I think I said after the weekend that I still expected there to be activity, but I think the uncertainty is much lower than last year.
And according to Football Insider, Spurs are contemplating signing Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli this summer, with several other Premier League clubs also following suit.
The report adds that Postecoglou needs a central midfielder before the transfer window closes on August 30 and that the 26-year-old, who can play in 8 or six, is on the club’s target list.
Reportedly, the Old Woman is willing to sell Italy’s foreign team for £20 million; however, the fact that he has 4 years left on his contract puts the Serie A team in a negotiating position.
If Tottenham were to sign Locatelli, who made 40 appearances for Juventus last season, it could be difficult for some Arsenal fans to accept. This is because the 6ft 1in player turned down the Gunners for Juventus in 2021, according to Sassuolo manager Giovanni Carnevali.
Locatelli joined the Italian giants for a payment of around £30 million, firstly for a two-year loan with legal purchase responsibility. But it could have been very different if he had had to move to the Emirates.
Carnevali said earlier this year: “The economic facet of a measure is important, but not decisive. For example, Locatelli surely wanted to move to Juventus, we rejected it although we renounced the monetary aspect because there is interest from some other club, Arsenal.
Locatelli’s brother, Mattia, added: “I am still in the negotiation (that took him to Juventus). For him it was a long time. There was also Arsenal, but he was looking for Juventus. The clubs continued to meet, but without reaching to an agreement. ” . Every day he looked at the Gazzetta dello Sport to check (what was happening).
If we move quickly towards the offer, Arsenal’s defeat can be a win for Tottenham.