Spurs rumours are going to be crazy for a while

With Tottenham Hotspur staying up in the Premier League and new coach Roberto De Zerbi getting rave reviews for the job he’s done so far, the rumours about big signings for Tottenham are going to be flooding in all summer.

A couple of veterans coming on free transfers, with Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson expected to be confirmed shortly. Though the Robertson deal might be complicated by Juventus inquiring about his services.

In terms of actual transfers, yesterday saw a big dump of reporting about Spurs pursuing players from Manchester City and Brighton. They were knocked back in their attempts to sign Savinho last summer, but he’s probably available after hardly playing for City this season.

They’re also reportedly interested in Nico Gonzalez, who would certainly improve their lack of passing in midfield problem. As you might expect, he hasn’t matched the gaudy passing numbers he put up at Porto since making the move to the Premier League, but he’d still make Tottenham better.

De Zerbi also apparently likes a bunch of players on his old team, according to Miguel Delaney. He says that all of Carlos Baleba, Jan Paul van Hecke and Bart Verbruggen are on Tottenham’s wish list.

Baleba had a price tag of £100m when teams were sniffing around last summer, but I can’t imagine anyone’s interested in paying that kind of fee after he had a bit of a down season. While Baleba is a superb athlete with solid ball-winning volume and carrying ability, he was one of the worst passers in the Premier League this past season. He’s the younger and quicker version of what Tottenham already have.

Van Hecke has been one of the most productive ball-playing center backs in England since cementing his place as a starter for Brighton, and his aerial numbers are great too. He definitely has some questionable moments when it comes to marking, which is obviously a problem for a center back, but the rest of his profile is so good that I’m surprised a rich club didn’t come in for him last summer.

If Cuti Romero and/or Micky van de Ven goes, this is as good of a replacement as Spurs are likely to find.

And finally, Bart Verbruggen is definitely an above-average goalkeeper, but the change in his statistical profile from year-to-year makes it a bit difficult to pin down exactly what kind of keeper he is, and where his strengths and weaknesses lie. He had much better shot stopping numbers this year than the previous campaign, but his claims and passing numbers dropped off pretty significantly.

You might be wondering, who’s leading recruitment of all these players Spurs are rumoured to be signing? That’s a great question, since the club is looking for a new sporting director, and doesn’t seem to know what to do with Johan Lange. It seems very much up in the air if he’ll be a new hire’s equal, get demoted, or get fired. We were pretty clear at this newsletter that we expected Lange to lose his job in September, and it remains baffling that he is employed by Tottenham Hotspur.

More transfer rumours

• Between the aforementioned Nico Gonzalez rumours, Bernardo Silva’s departure and Rodri’s future up in the air, City is going to need a couple midfielders. They appear to be winning the race for Elliot Anderson, but we’ve also got a shocking BOMBA from slop kings Fichajes. They say Enzo Maresca wants a reunion with Enzo Fernandez, who Chelsea would likely ask at least £100m for. Spicy!

• Liverpool have been linked to Yan Diomande for a while, but he might not be moving this summer. Ryan Taylor reports that Leipzig do not plan to sell him, and that CAS are investigating a legal dispute regarding his agent.

• Ederson to Man United is inching closer to becoming a reality, and he’s going to be a very good versatile addition to their midfield.

• Every day, a new big club gets linked to Anthony Gordon. It seems like Newcastle have set a price of £75m, and someone is going to pay it. But a new favorite has entered the conversation: Barcelona! I’d love to see it.

• Harvey Barnes to Aston Villa would make a lot more sense if that Gordon sale didn’t feel inevitable. I can’t imagine the Magpies will sell both in the same window.

• Today’s Arsenal rumours kind of feel like slop to me: Morgan Rogers and Sandro Tonali are linked. I think we’re much more likely to see the Gunners spend big on left wing, striker, and maybe a versatile CB/RB hybrid if Ben White is moving on.

• Hayden Hackney is being linked to Nottingham Forest as a likely Elliot Anderson replacement, and yeah, just do that. Great signing, no notes. 10/10.

• West Ham’s finances are looking pretty bad in the wake of relegation, but it’s increasingly clear that they’re going to make a ton of money from two sales to ease the pain. Jarrod Bowen and Mateus Fernandes both have huge markets, with a half-dozen rich clubs getting linked to both players. They might pull in £120m in fees.

• We mentioned Brentford’s interest in Said El Mala last week, but here’s fresh reporting that they’ve made a bid of around £40m. It’s expensive for a young Bundesliga player with only 1 year of elite production, but I do think he’s worth it.

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