Spurs hold talks to sign “one of the best young players in Europe”

The days of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen at Tottenham Hotspur are long gone. Fine days they were.

Spurs reached a Champions League final with the four of them spearheading a quite brilliant forward line. However, everything has gone rather down hill in recent years.

The Lilywhites are about as far away from reaching that showpiece event again as they could be. That said, back-to-back 17th placed finishes in the Premier League has not left them in a slump.

In fact, it’s been quite the opposite. It’s really kicked Roberto De Zerbi and Co into life with a summer of incredible spending on the cards.

Three players have already arrived in the form of Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson but there could be two big-money additions on the way in the shape of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.

Spurs add Argentine youngster to their midfield shortlist

If Spurs can seal a deal for either Tonali or Fernandes it would be a huge sign of intent heading into the new season.

Yet, this will not be straightforward. Tottenham know all too well the risks of trying to sign the Premier League’s best talent. A year ago, they thought they had landed Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze, only for the deals to fall through at the 11th hour.

They will hope they have better luck with Tonali, in particular, given he hails from the same region of Italy as De Zerbi. Other factors will be important, of course it will, but the midfielder has already agreed personal terms with Spurs, according to reports.

Fernandes has also caught the club’s eye but it is widely expected he will sign for Manchester United at this current moment in time.

Tottenham may well require alternatives and they could find one in Como’s Nico Paz. Once again, this would be quite the coup if they were able to complete a move.

Well, according to TEAMtalk, it appears the door has opened for Spurs to seal a deal. It was thought that Real Madrid were going to exercise their buyback clause to re-sign Paz this summer but there has been a change of heart.

He looked well-poised to make a return to the Bernabeu but Jose Mourinho’s arrival on the scene has changed the landscape with the Portuguese not viewing him as a natural fit for what he wants to build in the Spanish capital.

As a result, there is a world where Real bring him back anyway but then sell him on immediately for a fee in the region of £51m.

Spurs made a serious play to sign Paz a year ago but were fruitless in their endeavours. This time around, however, things could be different. During further talks this year, Tottenham have been informed of Madrid’s stance and thus, are exploring a move again. Arsenal and Chelsea are also keeping a close eye on developments.

Why Paz could be Tottenham’s new Dele Alli

While Dele’s adventure in north London did not end in the way he would have liked, it’s difficult to forget about just what a mighty fine player he was during his Spurs heyday.

This is one of the finest players Tottenham have had at their disposal in the modern-era. Plucked from MK Dons in the Football League, it was not long before he becamse one of the stars of the Premier League and an England regular.

Who can forget that wonderful volley against Crystal Palace? We certainly won’t be in a hurry.

Signed from MK at the age of just 18, Dele was an incredibly raw talent at the time but he soon became a star. He was a regular goalscorer but he also popped up with vital assists along the way, netting 67 times in 269 outings. He also supplied 59 goals for his teammates. In that time, he was named PFA Young Player of the Year on two occasions and was also voted in the PFA Team of the Year twice.

In Paz, they could sign a player with a similar level of talent and with likeminded qualities. Aged just 21, like with Dele, the Argentina international has seriously caught the eye as a young attacking midfielder.

Indeed, after being handed the Rising Ballers x Fotmob Player of the Month award for April 2026, he was rightfully described as “one of the best young players in Europe right now.”

It’s hard to dispute that. Under Cesc Fabregas’s guidance in the pictureseque region of Lombardy, he scored six goals and registered nine assists back in 2024/25. He then went from strength to strength last season, finding the back of the net 12 times and supplying seven assists.

A gifted attacking midfielder and playmaker, he was officially named the Serie A’s best midfielder for last season.

Like Dele, he possesses a natural ability to bamoozle opponents, to score wonderful goals and create something out of nothing. Last term, no U21 midfielder registered a higher tally of expected goals and expected assists (15.17) than Paz. The next best was Real Madrid’s Arda Guler with 10.80. He is already streets ahead of his peers.

The youngster is constantly trying to make things happen. Compared to positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues, he ranks among the top 2% for shots per 90 minutes with as many as 3.78 and in the best 6% for final third entries. Not just a class apart in and around the penalty area, that final metric proves he’s capable of running from deep and really impacting play too.

He’s not just a pretty football either. A physical presence like Dele in his prime, Paz wins 2.57 defensive ground duels per 90, enough to rank him among the finest 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe.

Aged just 21, it would appear that Paz has the world at his feet. While Spurs may well be focusing on Tonali right now, the Argentine would be a similarly huge coup.