£90m star is very keen on joining Spurs

What a summer this is turning out to be for the very nearly relegated Tottenham Hotspur.

While football is not played on paper, Spurs do look as though they have already strengthened signifcantly. Any thought of another relegation battle is surely long gone.

The Lilywhites have signed a plethora of defenders in the form of Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, while there was even room for the bargain addition of Martin Dubravka.

There has also been the small matter of a combined £185m being spent on Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. Up next could be a winger and it could be Rafael Leao.

How Rafael Leao compares to Tottenham’s winger targets

After obliterating their transfer record to sign Tonali, you would be forgiven for thinking the coffers were empty at Tottenham.

Alas, Roberto De Zerbi is not done with his spending, and although another club-record deal may not be on the way, it’s thought a big sum of money could be shelled out to improve the forward line.

Leao is one of the priority targets for Spurs and talks are said to have been held between Tottenham and the player’s camp. He’s not the only player on their radar, however.

Cody Gakpo, Savinho and RB Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa are all said to be players of interest, but who should be the number one choice?

Well, if you want someone with strong output and with experience of Premier League football already, Cody Gakpo is your man. While Savinho has only scored seven goals in his first two seasons with Manchester City, the Liverpool star has scored 27 goals in the same amount of time. The Dutchman is far more prolific.

He’s more prolific than Nusa too and even Leao. The Norwegian sensation has bagged just nine times in the last two seasons. Leao has scored 22 so he’s more alike when it comes to goalscoring.

Based on quality and consistency alone, the AC Milan winger would be a fabulous capture. He has scored ten or more goals in each of the last five seasons but, and this is a big but, he has never played in England before. That does not necessarily mean he would be a failure but it would mean he’d take longer to adapt.

It’s why Gakpo or Savinho may actually be a wiser use of funds this summer. That said, there’s an even bigger talent on their shortlist and there is a genuine chance he joins them this summer.

Why Spurs need to prioritise £90m Premier League star

Three years ago, Harry Kane left Tottenham. The unthinkable finally happened and it has all been downhil since then. The exit of Heung-min Son a year ago did not help either.

Without them, Spurs have lacked star power, they’ve lacked a talisman, an icon to fire them to their glory. In Tonali, De Zerbi may well have found a player capable of replicating their influence, but he’s not a forward, he won’t inspire the team with his goals.

Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi would. The French striker has been the subject of interest from plenty of clubs this summer, notably Arsenal.

However, Tottenham are at the table and according to TEAMtalk over the weekend, the Londoners have a newfound belief that they will be able to sign Kroupi this summer.

That’s because, despite him being viewed as a dream target by PSG, the Cherries attacker is unwilling to join them if he is forced to be a squad player behind Ousmane Dembele and Co. Fair enough, right? He needs to play regular football at his age to continue developing in the way he has.

Because of that, Spurs are ramping up a move for the 19-year-old and it is thought that he finds the idea of joining De Zerbi’s side hugely appealing. Previous reports have outlined a £90m asking price.

So, why would he be a better signing than Leao and what could he bring to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Well, it’s safe to say this is one of the best young players in the world right now. As a teen, he is already achieving things his older peers would only dream of achieving.

Last season, the youngster scored 13 goals. No teenager in their debut Premier League season has ever scored more. To put that number into context, it’s a tally Leao has beaten on three occasions, but not by much even despite his older age.

The 27-year-old bagged 14 in 2021/22, 16 in 2022/23 and 15 in 2023/24. Kroupi, however, has genuine world-class potential. If he isn’t already, this is an elite player in the making.

Very rarely have we seen a player adapt at that age this quickly to Premier League life. He only joined Bournemouth a year ago and he did so after playing in Ligue 2 for Lorient.

What separates Kroupi from Leao is not just his potential or his finishing ability, but his versatility too. This is a player who can thrive as a striker, as more of a 10 or on the flanks. The fact he can do so at a young age is impressive and he’s only going to get better in each of those roles too.

For Bournemouth last term, the dazzling Frenchman scored seven goals in 19 games as a striker and 6 in 16 as a second striker/number 10. The year prior, he found the net on seven occasions in six games a left winger.

Supremely versatile, a remarkably composed finisher and a player with incredible potential, investing in the 19-year-old over Leao definitely makes sense this summer.