Tottenham have drawn up a shortlist of five alternatives for Eberechi Eze after Arsenal hijacked their move for the Crystal Palace star.
Spurs were inching closer to a deal for Eze before Arsenal swooped in on Wednesday evening following Kai Havertz injury to reach an agreement with Crystal Palace and the player for his transfer.
Fabrizio Romano wrote on X: ‘Eberechi Eze to Arsenal, here we go! Verbal agreement in place between all parties. Crystal Palace to receive package in excess of £60m as Eze preferred #AFC over Spurs. Arsenal win race over Tottenham, been in advanced talks for days but never sealed.’
It’s a huge blow for Spurs and chairman Daniel Levy, who will now go back to the drawing board to sign a new playmaker/forward to bolster Thomas Frank’s squad.
TBR Football’s Graeme Bailey has named four players Spurs are interested in, and may look to get their own back on Palace by pushing for their top target to replace Eze at Selhurst Park.
Bailey said: “Tottenham have enquired about the situation surrounding Bilal El Khannouss, who Crystal Palace have agreed terms with to replace Eze.
“However, despite El Khanouss agreeing to join Palace, the deal is not done.
“I have also been told that Spurs have again asked about Savinho, but they have received no encouragement from City.
“Tyler Dibling is another player on Tottenham’s radar, and Spurs have maintained an interest in him too. Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott is another one they admire.
“Tottenham are working hard; they already know the market.”
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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has also thrown Morgan Rogers’ name into the mix as a “dream target”, though admits any deal for forward – whom Aston Villa value at £80m – will be “very difficult”.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “And in this case, after 10 days of negotiations, advanced negotiations, Arsenal appeared, and Tottenham lost the player.
“What happens with Tottenham now? They started making some calls today already to try and understand the situation for new players to add to their squad.
“For example, I can tell you that one of the dream targets they have at Tottenham internally is Morgan Rogers at Aston Villa. But it’s seen as a very difficult deal because Villa don’t want to lose the player.
“So people in the industry believe that this deal is almost impossible for Morgan Rogers, but I can guarantee you that Tottenham are thinking internally about him as a perfect candidate.”