Spurs confident of mega deal to sign Maddison 2.0

Tottenham Hotspur celebrated with passion and relief as they defeated Everton on the final game of the 2025/26 season and avoided relegation from the Premier League.

Roberto De Zerbi was the architect, but he wants to find a different kind of success next season, targeting summer signings who can lift Spurs away from the pit of the Premier League, where they have now languished for two years, and back into Europe.

Let’s not forget: Tottenham won the Europa League just over 12 months ago, so the framework is there to compete among the biggest hitters in England and overseas.

But this transfer window has to go off without a hitch, and while ENIC Group have shored up the backline, there remains a lot of work to do in midfield and attacking areas.

Spurs targeting three midfield signings

Tottenham are busy, and no mistake there. The Londoners recognise the importance of getting it right this summer, and De Zerbi has clearly informed the powers that be that midfield improvements are paramount.

Ergo, Premier League pair Mateus Fernandes (West Ham) and Sandro Tonali (Newcastle) have emerged as top targets for the Lilywhites.

Both midfielders would cost a pretty penny, and there are absolutely no guarantees that competition would be beaten away. Spurs will throw the kitchen sink, but they do have alternative options on the cards, with one man standing out.

As per TEAMtalk, Tottenham have stormed into the race for Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton, who is emerging as one of the ‘most realistic’ top targets for the club.

While enquiries have been made for both Fernandes and Tonali, the rival suitors in such battles – Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City chief among them – could put a spanner in the works.

Wharton – who might require a ‘substantial’ bid – would be the ideal fallback, with Spurs said to hold a ‘confidence’ that a deal with Palace can be struck.

Valued at £70m, the England international, omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, could even play alongside the aforementioned transfer targets, with Spurs open to completing three midfield additions before the end of summer.

Joao Palhinha falls into that category, though. Efforts are being made to secure last year’s loanee for good. Whether ENIC will prevail is another matter.

Why Wharton can be Spurs’ perfect summer signing

You would hope that Tottenham would pull off at least one of these ambitious signings, Fernandes and Tonali clearly have seen greater emphasis placed on their signatures at this stage.

But Wharton could actually be the best of the lot, someone who is less physically robust, perhaps, but whose line-breaking passing could be instrumental in restoring fluency to Spurs’ build-up play.

Hailed as a “passing machine” by journalist Henry Winter, Wharton is skilled at dispossessing his opponents and retaining the ball. Or indeed unleashing it into the right attacking areas.

He has added variation and nuance to his game at Crystal Palace, and given that he would arrive from a Premier League rival, he could even become a playmaker such as James Maddison for De Zerbi’s Lilywhites.

Wharton’s impressive range of passes have seen him become a focal creator for Crystal Palace. In that, he shares a thing or two with Maddison, similar in the way he creates for his teammates, albeit with a wider style that better fits a deeper midfield role.

Maddison will hope to reclaim his place in the starting Spurs line-up next season, but he might find it a little difficult with the likes of Wharton in there.

The Palace superstar has hit all the right beats over the past few years, instrumental in making it back-to-back title-winning seasons at Selhurst Park.

Should he join Tottenham this summer, he would emulate Maddison, who might have been relegated with Leicester, but who won the FA Cup at the King Power.

They may be different kinds of playmaker, but their methods are both means to an end. Wharton might just take the cake though, and he could become a superstar under De Zerbi’s management.