Tottenham: Lange eyeing "genius" £22.5m attacker move after Gibbs-White blow
da blaze casino： Tottenham have set their sights on another quality attacking midfielder after seeing Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White commit his future to the City Ground.
Related £190k-per-week Tottenham star now close to agreeing exit as talks advance
He would be a sore miss.
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da apostaganha： Thomas Frank’s side are arguably in dire need of more creativity. The Lilywhites struggled to break down League One outfit Luton Town in the second of their two Saturday pre-season friendlies last weekend, despite fielding a strong side loaded with key first-team players.
While it’s important not to overanalyse summer preparations for the new Premier League season, with Frank’s players regaining match fitness and sharpness right now, the signs were not overly encouraging.
Tottenham’s best-performing regulars in the Premier League – 2024/2025
Average match rating
Son Heung-min
7.00
James Maddison
6.98
Pedro Porro
6.95
Dominic Solanke
6.84
Dejan Kulusevski
6.83
via WhoScored
In an ideal world, Tottenham would have welcomed new playmaker Gibbs-White to N17 by now, having scheduled a medical on July 11 whilst attempting to trigger his past £60 million release clause.
However, in what was an unprecedented turn of events, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis put a halt to the transfer, threatened legal action against Spurs and somehow convinced Gibbs-White to pen a contract extension instead.
Signing the 25-year-old was Tottenham’s priority for the previous fortnight, but those precious two weeks of the transfer window were seemingly wasted. Technical director Johan Lange and his recruitment team must now turn to different attacking targets, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that Tottenham are working on signing alternatives to Gibbs-White.
Despite serious links to north London rivals Arsenal, Spurs have been targeting Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze this window, and whilst Mikel Arteta’s side prioritise outgoings right now (Fabrizio Romano), perhaps Lange can use this time to beat the Gunners to his signature.
Eze would be a phenomenal alternative to Gibbs-White, following his campaign of 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions at Palace, including their FA Cup-final winning strike against Man City.
However, in the event Arsenal beat Spurs to Eze, there are other viable candidates for the number 10 role at Tottenham.
Tottenham eyeing Leicester City playmaker Bilal El Khannouss
According to TBR Football and journalist Graeme Bailey, one of them is Leicester City star Bilal El Khannouss.
The 21-year-old was a shining light in an otherwise dismal Foxes side who were relegated right back down to the Championship last term, averaging more key passes per 90 in the final third than any of his teammates in the top flight (WhoScored).
Bailey reports that Spurs are now targeting El Khannouss, coming after they unceremoniously missed out on a deal for Gibbs-White and reports that the Morocco international’s contract includes a £22.5 million release clause (talkSPORT).
The clause was tied in with Leicester’s drop to the second tier, and means the young El Khannouss is available for a very astute fee.
Members of the media, like journalist Antonio Mango, have heralded the African as a “genius” attacking player, with El Khannouss now emerging as a very intriguing option for Lange as we enter the final few weeks of the summer.