Tottenham have become a legitimate Champions League contender in the Premier League again, one season after finishing eighth and failing to qualify for any sort of European football.
Spurs missed out on European football despite Harry Kane scoring 30 goals for them and creating a substantial number of chances (1.5 key passes per game).
Now that Kane is gone and already breaking records in the Bundesliga, though, Spurs are actually better off, and that’s thanks to the improvements they have made tactically and with their personnel under new manager Ange Postecoglou.
In order to push for more and even content for the Premier League title under Postecoglou’s leadership, Tottenham will need to make more smart signings on the transfer market.
Here are five players Tottenham could sign in the summer 2024 transfer window to get closer to competing with Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool for the Premier League crown.
RB Leipzig CM Xavi Simons
Xavi Simons’ biggest strengths
Xavi Simons was one of the standouts in European competition last season for PSV, earning a bigger loan move from PSG to RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, where he has been just behind Harry Kane as a Bundesliga Player of the Season candidate.
The 20-year-old is playing the football of his life with seven goals and nine assists for the Red Bull-owned side, starting in virtually every position in the midfield and even on the wing.
A do-everything midfielder, Simons is averaging 2.4 key passes and a combined 5 fouls drawn and dribbles completed per match in the German top flight. There’s a case to be made that after Jude Bellingham, he’s been the best attacking midfielder of the 2023/24 season.
How Xavi Simons fits with Tottenham
Tottenham have an elite playmaker in James Maddison, who began the season as a Premier League Player of the Season contender and is currently sitting on 11 goal contributions himself.
Xavi Simons might actually be a better playmaker because of his energy, goal-scoring touch, and skill on the ball. But Maddison has the technique and the eye for the killer pass that Simons is still developing.
Tottenham can use Simons as a 10 whenever Maddison is unavailable, or they can play him as an 8, where he can use his energy and progression to offer a more attacking option to the likes of Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr.
Feasibility of a Xavi Simons transfer for Tottenham
PSG own the rights to Xavi Simons and should do everything they can to keep him, having already watched Christopher Nkunku and Moussa Diaby become big Bundesliga stars and then major Premier League transfers.
However, Simons may not want to stay with a club that is about to lose Kylian Mbappé and hasn’t had a real plan of success. Tottenham have the luster of the Premier League and a more vibrant fanbase. Simons could be itching for that sort of move, and he may be a good value on the market if he pushes himself out.
Frosinone RW Matías Soulé
Matías Soulé’s biggest strengths
Matías Soulé made his come-up as a Juventus prospect but could not break into the first team as a regular, even though he did get opportunities here and there.
Now on loan at Frosinone, Soulé has blossomed into one of the best players in Serie A and started the season on a ridiculous goal-scoring rate.
As it stands, Soulé has found the back of the net 10 times and is putting up even more impressive playmaking statistics with 2.2 key passes and 3.3 dribbles completed per game. His assist numbers would be even higher on a better team.
Matías Soulé’s fit with Tottenham
Tottenham could utilize Soulé as a left-footed playmaker next to Maddison or simply play him instead of Maddison whenever the former Leicester City man is unavailable.
But mostly, Soulé has been playing as an inverted playmaker from the right-hand side for Frosinone, allowing him to cut inside and take shots on.
He is making great use of that, scoring plenty of goals for the Serie A side. He can be a more incisive, playmaking alternative to Dejan Kulusevski on that side of the formation, starting depending on the opponent.
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