For the second year running, Tottenham run the risk of being beaten to a major summer transfer target by arch-rivals Arsenal.
That’s the warning talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan has given Spurs as they eye up a big midfield signing, having seen the Gunners hijack their move for Eberechi Eze last year.
The north London club have held talks with representatives of Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali as they look to strengthen their squad after narrowly avoiding relegation from the Premier League.
But Jordan isn’t convinced that Roberto De Zerbi’s side will be in pole position to land the 26-year-old Italy international.
Jordan’s Tonali doubt
Discussing the situation with Jim White on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan, the former Crystal Palace chairman derided the suggestion Tonali could be Tottenham-bound, responding to the news that Spurs had met Tonali’s team.
“They can talk to Ferenc Puskas for a meeting if they want, but they’re not going to sign Tonali. He’s not going to sign for Tottenham.
Asked by White why he couldn’t see Tonali joining Spurs, Jordan responded: “Because I doubt that he will see an upward move being Tottenham Hotspur – given that he’s been at Newcastle; given that the expectation of Newcastle was far greater than ultimately he possible signed on for.
“The expectation was that the ownership would have pushed harder and higher.
“There’s expectations of him being going to [much] bigger clubs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up at Arsenal and the same thing happens to Spurs [that happened] with Eberechi Eze.”
Deja vu for Spurs?
Spurs appeared to be winning the race to sign Eze from Crystal Palace last summer but eventually lost out to Arsenal.
The England star joined the Gunners for £67.5m, much to the frustration of Tottenham fans.
Eze went on to help Arsenal win their first Premier League title in 22 years and was named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup.
While it remains to be seen whether Tonali, who joined Newcastle from AC Milan three years ago, ends up a Spurs player this summer, the club have already been active in the transfer market.
Two players have agreed moves to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as free agents when their contracts expire at the end of this month.
Left-back Andy Robertson and centre-back Marcos Senesi will officially become Tottenham players on July 1 after leaving Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively.
The only way is up
Spurs will be determined to perform considerably better in 2026/27 than they did in the season just gone.
Their back-to-back Premier League finishes of 17th were their lowest since 1977 – when they finished bottom of the old First Division.
De Zerbi and co. will find out their first opponents of the new campaign when the 2026/27 Premier League fixtures are announced this Friday (June 19).