Tottenham fail with surprise Real Madrid raid, with record-breaking Prem move now top priority
Real Madrid playmaker Brahim Diaz, Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze
A surprise Tottenham raid on Real Madrid has been met with a swift double rejection, though Spurs plan to accelerate plans to sign a superior player who’ll break their transfer record anyway, according to reports.
Spurs’ transfer window has exploded into life over the last 24 hours. Tottenham have struck an agreement to sign Leeds United ace, Archie Gray. The 18-year-old has already passed a medical after agreeing personal terms with Tottenham.
Spurs will send Joe Rodon back to Elland Road in a permanent transfer, though that move is being treated as a separate deal. According to Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham will pay £40m to sign Gray and receive £10m from selling Rodon.
Gray can play at right-back or in central midfield. Given the presence of Pedro Porro, it’s expected Gray will feature mostly in midfield.
The Gray signing could wrap up Spurs’ midfield plans and put to rest their long-standing ambitions of signing Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher.
Attention at Spurs will now shift to signing a centre-back, a creative attacker and a striker.
Tottenham fail to sign Real Madrid playmaker
Regarding the creative attacker addition, reports in France state Tottenham made a surprise approach for Real Madrid playmaker, Brahim Diaz.
The 24-year-old rose previously to prominence during a successful three-year loan spell with AC Milan.
Diaz was finally integrated into Real Madrid’s first team last season and did not disappoint when scoring 12 goals and providing nine assists from 44 appearances.
However, with the imminent arrivals of Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian wonderkid Endrick soon to bolster Carlo Ancelotti’s attacking options, Tottenham sensed an opportunity to strike for Diaz.
But according to the report, not only did Real Madrid reject Tottenham’s approach for Diaz, but the €40m-rated attacker also said no to Spurs too.
With that avenue firmly closed, Tottenham are primed to put all their eggs in the Eberechi Eze basket.
Spurs to accelerate record-breaking transfer
The Crystal Palace and England ace can be signed via a release clause understood to be worth £60m.
A transfer of that size would make Eze Tottenham’s most expensive ever buy. Richarlison also cost £60m when bought from Everton, though his deal comprised £50m with the remaining £10m made up of future add-ons.
Eze bagged 15 goal contributions in 27 Premier League matches for Palace last term and counts Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd among his admirers.
But according to the Times, it’s Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham who front the queue and the north London club are prepared to ramp up their pursuit.
Spurs will not hesitate to pay full price by activating the clause and intend to ramp up their chase once Eze’s campaign with England at Euro 2024 concludes.
Given England only just scraped past Slovakia on Sunday, few would bet against their campaign ending at the hands of Switzerland next Saturday.
Tottenham are by no means the only high profile club showing interest in Eze. However, TEAMtalk has learned of two reasons why Spurs are confident they’ll win the race.
Firstly, chairman Daniel Levy holds excellent relations with the CAA Stellar agency who represent Eze.
Secondly, talks between Tottenham and Eze’s camp have already taken place and further rounds of discussions were held over the past few weeks.
Where will Postecoglou play Eze?
In the event Tottenham do sign Eze, all eyes will be on where the electric attacker features for Ange Postecoglou.
He could play as a number eight in a midfield three, with Eze and James Maddison flanking Gray. However, that would leave the 18-year-old with a lot of defensive work to do.
Eze can also operate on the left wing, though that position might not be up for grabs next season.
If Spurs succeed in signing a new starting striker, captain Son Heung-min will revert to his customary left wing role.
As such, Postecoglou may face a dilemma when attempting to piece together his starting line-up, though having too many high quality options will always be preferable to not having enough.
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