Tottenham Hotspur’s early deal for Sandro Tonali has created a problem for Arsenal in signing Newcastle United star.
It has been an eventful summer transfer window for Tottenham Hotspur thus far, with the club’s hierarchy securing six signings. A staggering £237 million has been spent on player purchases, as Roberto De Zerbi looks to reshape the squad that narrowly beat relegation last season.
Spurs sent out a message of intent to their rivals by capturing both Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes in the space of a week. The signing of Tonali in an eye-watering, club-record £100 million package from Newcastle United has been the flavour of Tottenham’s summer transfer window.
Tonali’s decision to join a club that finished 17th in the Premier League last season has attracted a lot of criticism, but on the other hand, fans have praised Tottenham for loosening the purse strings to sign a quality, seasoned campaigner to bolster the midfield unit. And our supporters would be delighted with the fact that the Italian’s capture may have severely damaged our arch-rivals’ pursuit of a Newcastle United player.
Tottenham’s Sandro Tonali acquisition is making Arsenal’s pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes difficult
Work is going on at Arsenal to ensure they are ready for their title defence. The Gunners have identified Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes as their chief target to bolster their engine room. They have reportedly agreed personal terms with the 28-year-old, who missed a crucial penalty in Brazil’s shock 2-1 defeat to Norway in the World Cup round of 16 at the start of the week.
However, according to a report from The Telegraph, Newcastle are hellbent on not wanting to sell Bruno Guimaraes after losing Tonali and Anthony Gordon this window. The Magpies rate him way higher than the £60m asking price floating around, and they feel the Brazilian international would accept their decision to reject any offers of that size.
The Toon Army chiefs are expected to demand a similar price to the £100m Spurs paid for Tonali, the report adds. This has made it difficult for Arsenal to acquire the services of Bruno, who is keen on moving to the Emirates Stadium. There remain doubts internally over whether the Gunners would be able to break the bank for the 28-year-old and lure him to Enfield this summer.
Why Spurs did a brilliant job by pulling off marquee deals early
Tottenham’s proactive approach has been the highlight of their transfer strategy this summer. This has not only surprised our fans, but also caught Premier League rivals off-guard.
Thankfully, the key decision-makers at White Hart Lane did not dilly-dally during negotiations for Tonali and Fernandes. Had they done that, there is a big possibility that we could have ended up shelling more money than the combined £185m on the duo. It feels Spurs have learnt from their mistakes of last summer’s transfer window, where Morgan Gibbs-White’s signing was blocked by Nottingham Forest, and Arsenal hijacked Eberechi Eze’s deal.
By adopting a new, refreshing transfer strategy of wrapping up high-profile deals in the early stages of the window, what Tottenham have also done is inflate the midfield market. This has made it tough for our Premier League rivals to get their transfer targets at reasonable prices.