ENIC ready to “break the bank” to seal Spurs’ best signing since Van de Ven

There needs to be a change in tack at Tottenham Hotspur this summer, with recruitment having been particularly wayward in recent years.

The 2025 arrivals didn’t exactly set the world alight, with the likes of Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus seeing their seasons derailed by injury, while Randal Kolo Muani scored just one Premier League goal following his loan switch from Paris Saint-Germain.

Of the 2024 crop, Lucas Bergvall is already pushing for an exit, both Wilson Odobert and Dominic Solanke have been pegged back by injury, while Archie Gray could find himself shunted down the pecking order by expected midfield arrivals.

Not since 2023, and Ange Postecoglou’s first summer in charge, have Spurs really enjoyed success in the market, with Micky van de Ven‘s purchase from Wolfsburg still standing out as the best of the bunch.

The Dutchman remains the benchmark for future signings, with all eyes on who could potentially be joining him at N17 ahead of next season.

Spurs now ready to “break the bank” for marquee signing

June isn’t even over, and four new signings have already been made, with backup goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka, joining Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Jan Paul van Hecke in north London.

Van Hecke being the youngest of the quartet at 26 speaks to a real sea change on the recruitment front, with youth – as signings like Gray, Bergvall and Simons attest to – having been the word previously.

At former Brighton and Hove Albion, for instance, Roberto De Zerbi parted ways amid a disagreement with owner Tony Bloom over the club’s transfer policy, the Italian seemingly insistent on acquiring more ready-made additions.

He appears to have continued those demands at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali certainly falling into that category.

ENIC’s pursuit of the 26-year-old midfielder rumbles on, with journalist Graeme Bailey suggesting that they are ready to “break the bank” in order to sign the Italy international, both in terms of wages and transfer fee.

For Tonali’s part, the former AC Milan sensation is said to be “ready and willing” to move to north London, as per Bailey, three years on from joining the Magpies on a £55m deal.

Why Tonali could be Spurs’ best signing in years

In a positive sense, the pursuit of the Newcastle star almost feels a little un-Spurs-like, with the club rarely landing players at the real peak of their powers.

North London has, and successfully so, often been a place for young talent to be nurtured, none more so than under Mauricio Pochettino, with Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Heung-min Son all blossoming during the Argentine’s tenure.

Yet signing truly proven, elite talents has not often been on the agenda, with supporters forced to watch on last summer as Spurs missed out on a string of marquee targets, namely Bryan Mbeumo, Antoine Semenyo and Eberechi Eze.

All being well, those days could be at an end, with Tonali truly one of the very best in his position, among the cream of the crop at Premier League level, in particular.

In the view of former Manchester United midfielder, Paul Scholes, Tonali is arguably the midfielder in the division when at his best, potentially even “better than [Declan] Rice”.

Perhaps he didn’t quite live up to the billing in a difficult 2025/26 campaign at St James’ Park, but on his day the 26-year-old can be a real powerhouse presence, a truly dominant force in the centre of the park.

Much like Van de Ven at centre-back, it’s difficult not to notice Tonali’s athleticism and mobility, able to eat up ground in a high-press set-up under Eddie Howe.

As per Scout Lab, for instance, he ranks in the top 7% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for defensive duels percentage, a truly ball-winning machine at his best.

Encouragingly too, there is silk to match the steel, as shown by the fact that he ranks in the top 19% for passes into the final third per 90, always seeking that progressive, probing pass.

Van de Ven, from his centre-back berth, is equally as forward-thinking, the Netherlands star ranking in the top 16% of centre-backs for progressive pass percentage per 90.

Time and again, the talismanic centre-back drags this Spurs side up the field, seemingly the perfect asset in an ever more physical Premier League.

Tonali is certainly cut from a similar cloth, with there likely to be few concerns over his ability to slot in smoothly, potentially emerging as the club’s best signing since plucking Van de Ven from Germany three years ago.