Tottenham must continue their approach of investing in young talent.
Roberto De Zerbi has overseen an upturn in results lately with back-to-back wins against Aston Villa and Wolves, which has seen Tottenham Hotspur leapfrog West Ham United out of the relegation zone. Spurs are currently just one point above the Hammers with three games to go, with Leeds United their next opponents.
Creativity and goals has been one of the major issues for Tottenham this season. In James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski’s injury absences, the team has struggled for invention and vision to unlock the opponents from midfield. As far as scoring goals is concerned, Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani have barely supported Richarlison up front.
De Zerbi has made an encouraging start at White Hart Lane, but he is not blind to the gaps in his squad. The ACL injuries to Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons has left the North London side short of a reliable, wide attacker, and while Mathys Tel has shown promise, the club are pushing for another option.
Tottenham, Chelsea monitoring River Plate talent Ian Subiabre
According to a report from Soy del Millo, Tottenham and Chelsea are tracking the development of Ian Subiabre at River Plate. They have been joined by Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Villarreal in the hunt for the teenage prodigy.
A product of River Plate’s youth system, Ian Subiabre made his first team debut in 2024. It took him until this year to start featuring regularly in the senior side, with the fleet-footed winger managing a goal and two assists from 20 matches so far this term.
The Argentine club are bracing for offers for their prodigious talent from Tottenham, Chelsea and Villarreal. The report adds they are demanding in the region of €8.5-12.7m, with Subiabre’s agent Claudio Caniggia looking to take advantage of growing interest to engineer a move to a big European club in the summer.
River Plate are facing financial constraints and hope their valuation on Subiabre is met to ease their problems. They also want to improve their squad.
Spurs want to improve their wide options
Spurs are chasing Subiabre for months as part of their long-term planning, with the Argentine fitting the mould of the kind of dynamic De Zerbi wants in North London. Quick, direct and creative, Subiabre’s high work rate and composure in 1v1 situations make him an exciting option for a Spurs side looking to add more intensity and flexibility to their wide department.
While Chelsea are also his big admirer, Tottenham could point towards the development of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall to convince the River Plate talent to become a part of their project and unlock his true potential under De Zerbi. Also, the North Londoners shouldn’t have much trouble meeting the 19-year-old’s asking price.
A left-footed right-winger by trade, the South American could learn a lot from Kudus, who is of the same profile. That said, it will be interesting to see whether the Hotspur Way chiefs decide to go all out for Subiabre’s signing.