Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott emerges as a primary summer target for incoming Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola as the Reds look to completely rebuild their engine room.
Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott emerges as a primary summer target for incoming Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola as the Reds look to completely rebuild their engine room. [Image via Getty]
Arsenal had hijacked Eberechi Eze last year from Tottenham.
Tottenham fans are quite known to this feeling of a long-term target getting hijacked at the eleventh hour or a move that doesn’t come through due to a problem right at the conclusion.
Last summer we saw that happening twice, with, firstly, Spurs triggering that infamous release clause of Morgan Gibbs-White, only for Forest to snatch him back and keep him. And then the Lilywhites had almost completed a deal for Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, but then they had to watch Arsenal come in and swoop for his signature right at the end of it.
Mateus Fernandes Liverpool prospects can spoil party at N17
Now with De Zerbi in charge of the rebuild, the former Brighton manager is pushing for a new midfielder, with West Ham star Mateus Fernandes being eyed in a marquee transfer alongside Sandro Tonali. But we are seeing this one take a familiar turn as well, and this time around it’s not Arsenal but Arteta’s childhood friend in Iraola to gatecrash the party as Liverpool look to secure his services.
Manchester United had been shouldering a move for the Portuguese in the past weeks, but just as Tottenham may have finally taken the lead to his signing, Liverpool have swooped in to try and hijack a move for him right at the time of conclusion. (h/t Football Insider)
The aforementioned report insists that the Merseysiders are looking at the 21-year-old as someone who can add that energy and athleticism in the middle of the park after their disappointing campaign under Arne Slot. But with Iraola having taken charge along the off-season, he wants to ensure he irons out the voids in his squad before the new season, and that is where he comes down as a problem to Tottenham and the Lilywhites’ prospects of landing the Hammers man.
Author Opinion
While the interest from Liverpool comes as a possible hurdle, they still haven’t done the background work to this deal that Tottenham and Manchester United have done in the past months.
The Reds’ interest is still rather new, so at the moment United should still be the Lilywhites’ main competitor to land Fernandes this summer, especially given that they have also agreed on personal terms with him, which makes the Manchester Reds more of a leading contender in this bidding war (at least now).
Tottenham would have a very specific tactical plan with him, given that De Zerbi is in charge at N17, and he would have laid out a proper roadmap to him to fulfil his potential as a player. But that does not bring about a concluded move.
Given that the value of the whole transaction is thought to be around £85 million with three Premier League title contenders now tracking Fernandes, Tottenham will now need to push and turn this tactical roadmap confidence under De Zerbi into a proper bid as quickly as possible. If not, Tottenham risk experiencing last summer’s Gibb-White and Eze sagas all over again, only this time with a different rival.