Injury, eh? Where would Tottenham Hotspur be without them? Of course, there are deeper reasons for Spurs’ Premier League struggles over the past two campaigns but the tenacity of key players hasn’t helped at all.
Name a Tottenham player and they’re likely to spend time out of action. Thomas Frank has missed out on Dominic Solanke for most of his tenure while the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusveski have not played a single game under the Dane.
At least Maddison is back to help Roberto De Zerbi but Deki is nowhere to be seen. The situation surrounding the Swedes is getting more and more worrying as the months go by.
Despite the return of Maddison, things were not easy for De Zerbi. Xavi Simons suffered a brutal injury to his ACL. He will now miss the next nine months at least.
So, it explains why Spurs are looking to bolster their attacking ranks.
The £60m star is now pushing to sign for Spurs
It can be said that the Lilywhites are taking no prisoners after finishing 17th in the Premier League for consecutive years.
They have already taken steps to prevent this from happening again, welcoming two new players to the club last week as Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth and Andy Robertson from Liverpool.
The two players have seen their contracts with their clubs expire and will head to north London where they are free. Not a bad business, right?
However, some big money additions could be on the cards for Jan Paul van Hecke’s £70m Brighton target. A deal is unlikely to happen at that price but Spurs are more than willing to make an unsuccessful bid to prize him away from the Amex.
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Spurs are also hoping to complete a deal for Manchester City defender Savinho. The latest in that pursuit comes from the Mirror who report that the Brazilian is ‘ready to move to London’.
Priced at £50m, De Zerbi’s side, then led by Frank, wanted to sign the defender last summer but failed in their bid. However, this time around, a deal looks likely as he has said that Savinho wants to move clubs and will ‘push for a deal’.
Further reports from a trusted Spurs insider on Sunday said the fee is ‘agreed’ and that only add-ons need to be arranged now for the move to start progressing quickly.
How does Savinho compare to Kudus and Kulusevski
Can you imagine where Spurs would have been last season if their top players had always included Kudus, Kulusevski, Maddison and Simons?
That’s a dangerous collection of forwards who are all capable of influencing play not only in midfield but also outfield.
|
Spurs selected players (games and minutes played) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
The player |
Games played |
Minutes |
|
Dejan Kulusevski |
0 |
0 |
|
James Maddison |
3 |
34 |
|
Dominic Solanke |
20 |
1,161 |
|
Mohammed Kudus |
26 |
1,921 |
|
Xavi Simons |
45 |
2,569 |
In 2025/26, they simply missed that much football and it’s no wonder Spurs find themselves in a relegation battle with their best players missing for so long.
That’s why the signing of someone like Savinho makes sense this summer but fans are right to be skeptical, especially for £50m.
Indeed, the City striker is coming off a season after scoring just one goal all season. He started only seven Premier League games. It was a really bad campaign for the 22-year-old.
That being said, he still has good qualities. In 2024/25, he scored three goals but assisted 13 goals. In this respect, he resembles Kudus and Kulusevski in question.
Since moving to England, the debutant has not been a prolific goalscorer, netting eight goals against West Ham United and Spurs. Kulusveski is no exception, although he found the net 10 times last season.
What all these three players have in common is their creativity. The Spurs Swede registered 11 assists in 2024/25 before his injury and Kudus managed five before him this season. That said, he was one of the team’s most talented players, registering 1.3 key assists per game. Only Pedro Porro managed more in the team with 1.6.
How does that compare to Savinho? Well, only Kevin De Bruyne (2.1) managed more important passes per game than the Brazilian winger last season (1.6) at Manchester City. That is very good.
However, like Kudus, he is a dual threat. When it comes to signing players, the City man is one of the best.
Although the Ghanaian has long been known for his ability to get past defenders, he only completed 3.20 balls per 90 compared to 7.45 per 90 for Savinho, a figure that puts him in the top 1% of footballers against winners in Europe’s top five leagues.
So, without initial doubt, this is a move that could well change the game for Tottenham’s attack. He is very intelligent like Kulusveski and Kudus while not afraid to take his own person.
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