Spurs offer five-year deal to sign £73m Premier League star

Since Heung-min Son decided to leave Tottenham Hotspur behind a year ago it has been quite the whirlwind. That’s putting it lightly too.

One of the South Korean’s final moments in a Spurs shirt was to win the Europa League but success has not followed after his exit, far from it. A 17th-placed finish in the Premier League simply has to be the final straw. Greater times must be on the horizon.

Well, Sonny would certainly be proud of how the Lilywhites have started the ongoing transfer window.

All of a sudden, on paper, the defence looks like one of the best in the league with Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi arriving in June.

But, they are not done there.

Spurs looking to sign a series of Premier League players

Spurs need to make a statement this summer and how better than by signing one of the elite midfield players in the Premier League right now?

Sandro Tonali is the man in question. Shock reports emerged last week indicating that he was now the club’s leading summer target and that he is actually keen on making the switch from Newcastle to north London.

Mateus Fernandes of West Ham is also on the club’s radar and that would be quite the coup too, particularly given his preferred move right now would be Manchester United.

The midfield is not the only area Spurs are looking to improve with Manchester City winger Savinho the subject of interest. They tried to sign him a year ago but were ultimately fruitless in their endeavours.

Another Premier League winger in their minds is Cody Gakpo. That’s according to reports in Italy that reveal that Roberto De Zerbi personally wants to sign the Liverpool forward this summer.

Spurs are working on submitting an important bid while talks with the player and his camp are already underway. It’s thought that the Dutchman has been offered a contract until 2031.

Previous reports have actually outlined that they have been willing to make a £73m bid to secure his services.

Why Gakpo could be Tottenham’s new Son

When you think of elite forward players at Spurs over the last decade, you think of three players in particular; Harry Kane, Gareth Bale and Son.

All three have had their own different stories and adventures in the English capital but it was Son who waited until the last moment to leave the club behind. It was Son who ended up with a trophy, carrying the Lilywhites out of their drought.

Still, not even the spritely South Korean would have been able to inspire them to greater heights last term. Spurs were that bad.

Nonetheless, it’s good to look back at the fond times. Son was certainly part of that. At Tottenham, he was majestic. Signed in a deal worth just £22m, the wide forward went on to score 173 goals and produce 101 assists in a whopping 454 appearances.

He was the go-to man out on the left flank. When they were in a crisis, they looked towards him and Kane to deliver the goods. While they have improved the defensive line in the early weeks of June, they are way off having an attack as good as that again.

Gakpo, however, would certainly help. He may well have only netted nine goals in 52 outings last season but he has always been a regular contributer for Liverpool. During the title win of 2024/25, the 27-year-old scored as many as 18 goals in 49 outings. He also supplied his teammates with seven assists.

With the ability to play off the left and through the middle as a striker, there are positional similarities to Son but the comparison goes beyond just that.

During that season, Son was actually ranked as the 19th most similar player to Gakpo in Europe’s top five leagues according to Scout Lab. Also on that list was Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, as well as Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic and Simon Adingra.

The core point of comparison is that they are incredibly direct wingers, forward players who love to get involved inside the penalty box and carry the ball forward with pace.

The way the duo get the ball on the left and drive forward, cutting inside towards the area is incredibly alike. Some of the statistics support the comparison too. While Gakpo was rather more prolific in 2024/25, he was very close to Son for productive and successful dribbles per 90 minutes.

The legendary South Korean made far more progressive passes per 90 but for open play expected assists they were nearly identical.

Gakpo has certainly not been in the best of form over the last year but he is beginning to get back to his best now, notably scoring twice for the Netherlands during their 5-1 win over Sweden at the World Cup.

The fee is perhaps the only offputting thing here. Compared to Savinho, they would be definitely be getting a more proven player though, potentially even their Son replacement after a year of searching.