Opinion: Five players Tottenham should look to sign this summer

As we enter the final week of the 2023/24 Premier League season, heads will now naturally turn towards the summer transfer window. With Ange Postecoglou...

The post Opinion: Five players Tottenham should look to sign this summer appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.

As we enter the final week of the 2023/24 Premier League season, heads will now naturally turn towards the summer transfer window. With Ange Postecoglou adamant that “change has to happen” (The Guardian) throughout the team in the upcoming months, this summer is shaping up to be a seminal one for Postecoglou’s Tottenham.  

As Spurs have faced some challenging games in the past eight weeks, there have been spots on the pitch that have become identifiable as needing improvement. This is paired with European football coming back on the horizon, spelling the need for quality squad depth, something that Spurs have been lacking this season. 

Like any build-up to a transfer window, names have begun floating of players that Tottenham are reportedly interested in bringing through the doors this summer. While this may be redundant given how quickly transfer rumours can fall away and how poorly Spurs have dealt with transfers in the past (albeit not since Ange was appointed), I’m going to take a dive into a few of the names anyway and see how they could fit at Tottenham. 

Viktor Gyökeres 

When Harry Kane left for Bayern Munich last August, the responsibility for leading the line for Tottenham was placed on Richarlison coming off the back of a tough previous season. While the Brazilian has had an upturn in form this campaign, scoring 11 league goals and assisting four, injuries have meant he has only appeared in the starting 11 in 14 of his 28 league appearances this season (transfermarkt).  

Richarlison’s absences have often meant a shake-up of the front three, with Son playing through the middle which hasn’t proved very effective on most occasions this season. There is a feeling that Spurs may be willing to offload Richarlisdon this summer, meaning the signing of a number 9 is of the utmost importance. 

One name that has been spoken about since the turn of the New Year is that of Viktor Gyökeres, the Swedish striker leading the line for Sporting CP in Portugal. Gyökeres is everything Ange-ball needs from a striker with his ability to hold onto the ball and his clinicality with the ball at his feet in the box.

The Premeira Liga’s top goal scorer, Gyökeres has netted 27 league goals and made nine assists in in 32 appearances this season (transfermarkt). While the 25-year-old is the clear suitor to lead Spurs’ front line, there are a couple of factors that may hamper any potential deal. Understandably, Spurs aren’t the only club interested in his signature. London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea are also both interested in the Swede and Sporting would be looking for a fee of around £85 million for Gyökeres who only joined the club from Coventry last summer. (GOAL) 

Albert Gudmundsson 

Arguably a more realistic goalscoring target for Tottenham comes in the form of Albert Gudmundsson. Another man with a good eye for space in the box and confidence with the ball at his feet, Gudmundsson has scored 16 and assisted four in 35 appearances for Italian side Genoa this season (transfermarkt).  

What makes this transfer a lot more likely is the lower cost price for the 26-year-old and the fact he plays for an Italian side. Spurs have done great business with Italian clubs in recent times, stemming back to Fabio Paratici’s time as managing director and only recently struck a deal with Genoa for the signing of Radu Dragusin in January.

Gudmundsson would no doubt be a good fit for Ange Postecoglou’s side with his ability to play both on the wing and through the middle. Only time will tell if Spurs will up their efforts to sign Iceland’s number 10, with other Italian clubs such as Inter and Roma also interested (Sempre Inter).

Conor Gallagher 

Before I begin, may I note that there is something so hard about believing that a man who has worn the captain’s armband for Chelsea for a good chunk of the season will sign for Tottenham this summer. But the rumours about Conor Gallagher and Spurs just simply won’t go away. 

As the season has progressed, there has been an evident dip in quality of Spurs’ midfield, owing to injury recovery and lack of depth within those positions. It’s clear that Spurs will have to invest in that area of the pitch this summer. Conor Gallagher has been consistent quality in the heart of a Chelsea team that has struggled to find consistency for most of the season.

Making 35 league appearances for the Blues this season, Gallagher’s high-intensity box-to-box nature makes him the perfect target for this Tottenham side. He is also a player who Postecoglou “loves” and has highlighted the player since he arrived at the club last summer (GiveMeSport). 

As I’ve mentioned, it is hard to see a Chelsea captain make the move to Tottenham, but Chelsea may not have a choice in the matter. With Chelsea’s poor PSR situation, they may be forced to sell one of their key players to receive a good amount of profit (The Times).

With the west-London outfit reportedly having no plans to sell full-back Reece James (GOAL), along with Gallagher having just a year left on his contract, the 24-year-old may find himself in a situation where he is pushed out the door with Daniel Levy waiting on the other side. 

Éderson 

We head back to Italy now for another more likely transfer. Atalanta’s Brazilian midfielder Éderson has been closely linked with Spurs since January (Sky Sports). He has shone for the Serie A side this season, making 49 appearances in all competitions and has been key in Atalanta’s run to this month’s Europa League Final in Dublin.

Éderson, like Conor Gallagher, is a strong box-to-box midfielder with excellent passing abilities. At just 24 years of age, he could be the perfect alternative to Gallagher. With the arrival of Lucas Bergvall in the summer, another midfield signing will be key to setting quality depth, and it could be one of these two players to complete this objective.

While Gallagher’s contract winding down means that Chelsea’s initial asking price of £50 million from earlier on in the year may fall slightly (Talk Sport). But comparing it to Éderson’s £25 million valuation, it may swing Levy in favour of signing the Brazillian if the situation plays out a certain way (transfermarkt). 

Kyle Walker-Peters 

This summer’s rebuild will have to put a certain focus on the defensive side of things, strengthing the area may be a good idea considering the 59 league goals Tottenham have conceded this season (Premier League).

While Spurs will likely target another central defender, it seems unclear who that may be at this moment in time, especially considering the reports that Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo isn’t considering a move to North London when his contract runs out in June (football.london). 

Tottenham look to also bolster their full-back ranks, especially as Emerson Royal is likely to exit this summer. Reports from last week suggest that Spurs may be considering a move for former Tottenham man Kyle Walker-Peters as he enters the final year of his contract with Southampton. Walker-Peters left Spurs in 2020 while Pierre-Emile Hojberg went the opposite way in a separate deal.  

Walker-Peters has played a pivotal role in Russel Martin’s Southampton side aiming for straight promotion back to the Premier League. He has made 43 Championship appearances this season for the Saints, bagging 6 goal involvements in the process (transfermarkt). A move away from Saint Mary’s Stadium could likely be on the cards for the 27-year-old especially if they fail to gain promotion through the playoffs in the coming weeks.

It wouldn’t be the worst idea for Tottenham to attempt to bring back a more experienced Walker-Peters to familiar territory especially with European football heightening the need for club-trained players within Postecoglou’s squad. 

No matter who Spurs bring in this Summer, it is sure to be a busy one for Postecoglou and Johan Lange as they attempt to make a pivotal step towards building a squad that can challenge for titles. Only time will tell whether they will succeed in bringing any of the players on this list or look elsewhere.

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