After their worst Premier League finish in fourteen years, it’s a big summer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the North London club gear up for life under Ange Postecoglou. In an ideal world, they’d love to hold onto key men Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, whilst supplementing the squad with players who will be natural fits for Postecoglou’s exciting brand of football.
The former Celtic boss will be hoping to have a number of fresh faces already through the door in time for the Premier League season opener at Brentford on Sunday 13th August.
However there are already signs that deals for a number of Tottenham’s top transfer targets may take a while to complete in the face of competition from at home and abroad.
It could be a familiar waiting game for Spurs and Chairman Daniel Levy with Kane’s continuation or possible exit likely to have a major impact on just how much is in the transfer kitty.
However, there are certainly a few areas that need strengthening regardless of the England captain’s future.
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Brennan Johnson
Does Tottenham Hotspur need a winger to help them challenge for the Premier League trophy? Well, if one of the most recent Tottenham transfer targets is anything to go by, the answer is yes. As you can see, the man whom Tottenham has in their sights right now is Brennan Johnson. This is obviously pretty exciting for Spurs fans given that Johnson is hot property at the moment, but the Nottingham Forest winger hasn’t signed anything yet. In fact, given the £40 million price tag that Nottingham Forest has set for Brennan Johnson, it’s unclear whether Tottenham will be willing to match such a fee.
It will all come down to how badly they wish to sign Johnson, and how much of an impact the club feels he could have at Tottenham. With that said, this 22-year-old is rapid, he isn’t afraid to run at defenders and create space, and he could be just what the club needs. That’s probably why the most recent transfer reports indicate that Tottenham is preparing to make a bid for Johnson, so the next few days could be very intriguing.
Jonathan David
It goes without saying that the departure of Harry Kane was a major blow for Tottenham. Then again, while it was a blow concerning the players that Tottenham have at their disposal, this sale led to a major injection of cash. Adding to that, Jonathan David is one of the Tottenham transfer targets who has been linked with the club before. In fact, when rumors first started circulating of Kane’s departure towards the end of last season, David was already a player that the club shortlisted. But why is that the case? Well, David scored a total of 24 goals in just 37 Ligue 1 appearances in the 22/23 season, so he is obviously a quality striker who can deliver.
Such numbers also meant that Jonathan David was the 3rd highest scorer in Ligue 1 last season. Of course, this is hugely promising, so it’s no wonder that Tottenham looked at him as a possible Kane replacement. As for what’s required to bring Jonathan David to Tottenham, Lille apparently wants £55 million for the 23-year-old striker. This is a fee that Tottenham can match, but whether they aim to bargain for David remains to be seen.
Evan Ferguson
Keeping in line with Tottenham’s clear ambitions to sign a talented striker for the 23/24 season, the club has recently enquired about signing Evan Ferguson from Brighton. For the moment, it looks as though Ferguson is settling to play for Brighton for the upcoming season, but Tottenham could make a last-minute move for the 18-year-old striker. After all, the club wouldn’t approach Brighton with a transfer inquiry if this wasn’t a potential move that they were considering.
However, since Brighton seems keen to hang on to the young striker, we can assume that Tottenham would need to make a significant bid to bring Ferguson in. As for what this bid would be, we will need to sit tight and see what plays out over the coming days.
Aymeric Laporte
According to latest rumors, Aymeric Laporte is on coach Ange Postecoglu’s radar hours before the 2023/24 Premier League season has started. Aside from World Cup winner Cristian Romero and new arrival Micky van de Ven, there aren’t many players suitable for the center-back role at Postecoglu’s disposal.
Fans of Premier League football don’t need to be familiarized with Laporte’s outstanding defensive skills. The 29-year-old French defender has proven his worth over the last couple of seasons. He survived the penalty roulette for many years, but it’s fair to say that the 2022/23 season wasn’t his best. Pep Guardiola gave him a chance among Manchester City’s starters on 12 occasions only. Which is a huge step down from the 33 he had in the previous season.
However, Spanish manager Guardiola isn’t letting his defender go without a proper deal. That’s why the Citizens’ board slapped a whopping £30m price on Laporte. It seems that Aymeric Laporte has no role to play at the club anymore, with Manchester City previously agreeing to a £77m record-breaking deal for Red Bull Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol.
It could turn out to be that Aymeric Laporte’s future is in London, as Tottenham Hotspur are eager to boost their squad for this season’s campaign.
Gift Orban
Should Harry Kane swap London for Munich, then coach Ange Postecoglu will have a lot on his plate for sure. Harry Kane is without a doubt the most influential goalscorer in the Premier League throughout this past decade, so finding a suitable replacement is no easy task. After all, Harry bagged 213 goals for Spurs in 317 official games. It’s never easy to fill in such shoes, but it seems that Tottenham’s board sees Gift Orban as the player who can make Spurs fans forget about Kane.
Gift Orban, 21, is playing for Belgian giants Gent. He made 17 appearances since he joined the club, during which he scored 16 goals. Signing Orban would be no issue, as the 21-year-old has a £20m price tag. That’s surely within the financial capabilities of Spurs, so we’ll see soon enough if the Nigerian striker will be strutting his stuff at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as it all depends on the negotiations between Bayern Munich and Spurs.
Mehdi Taremi
Considered the best Asian player at the moment, Mehdi Taremi has a couple of offers to choose from. It seems that Daniel Levy is keen on booking his services if the Harry Kane deal goes through. The 31-year-old Irani player had a fantastic couple of seasons with Portuguese top dogs Porto. During the 2022/23 campaign, Taremi found the net on 22 occasions plus additional seven assists.
Despite his age, Mehdi Taremi keeps on delivering every chance he gets, so he might just be the right man to replace Harry Kane for the next two or three seasons until a younger striker is found.
Signing Mehdi would cost Daniel Levy a total of €30m. That’s what Mehdi is worth to Porto. So far, Tottenham are only willing to pay €24m for the 31-year-old’s services. He’s no spring chicken, so Porto might be inclined to lower their financial expectations during these negotiations.
James Maddison
One of the most sought after players this summer in England is James Maddison who looks certain to leave Leicester City after the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League last month.
The 26 year old still managed 10 goals and 9 assists in the 2022/23 Premier League despite only starting 28 times in a struggling side. Were it not for injuries, he’d have surely reached double figures for both, a feat only Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka could manage last term.
That helps explain just why Maddison is so sought after with his goal threat from midfield, combined with his creativity, helping make him a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squads.
Maddison is the kind of playmaker who should be right at home in Postecoglou’s Spurs revamp but Champions League bound Newcastle are expected to provide competition for his signature.
Manor Solomon
With the club not taking up the option to sign Villarreal loanee Arnaut Danjuma on a permanent deal, a new left winger looks certain to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, most likely in a back-up capacity.
Tottenham look to be fighting Fulham for the capture of 23 year old Manor Solomon. The Israeli spent last season on loan at Craven Cottage and while he failed to nail down a regular starting role, the fact that he is available on a free transfer this summer could make him a good budget option ahead of a season where the club will not be in Europe.
There are potential legal battles ahead though which could complicate matters, with his current employers Shakhtar Donetsk unhappy at a recent FIFA ruling allowing Ukrainian and Russian based players and coaches to suspend their contracts and join other clubs.
