Tottenham Hotspur are expected to lodge a big-money bid for one of Europe's most sought-after players in the summer, according to a new report.
Tottenham inconsistencies shine light on transfer plans
If there’s one word to describe Tottenham this season, it’s inconsistent. Ange Postecoglou's side has swung between unstoppable and absent from one week to the next—beating teams like Liverpool and Manchester City in all too rare one-offs, only to then suffer defeats against the likes of Leicester City and Everton.
That inconsistency was on display again last week. Fresh off three consecutive wins over Brentford, Manchester United and Ipswich Town, Spurs delivered a lackluster performance against City, falling 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A goal from Erling Haaland was enough to secure all three points for the visitors.
Speaking after the match, which saw Spurs drop back down to 13th in the table, Postecoglou insisted there were plenty of positives to take from the defeat – most notablty the performances of young stars like Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert.
“There's definitely positives and I think you know, I keep saying there's enormous growth that we’re witnessing before our eyes, even though we're not getting the rewards for it right now," he proclaimed.
"We’re disappointed, but like I said, in terms of performance, from my perspective anyway, there's stuff in there where we can say, okay, we we're going to take that forward and get to level we want to."
Spurs bidding for Ademola Lookman
After what's been a difficult season, Tottenham will no doubt be looking to bolster their squad in the summer, not only to add quality but also strength in numbers. According to reports in Spain, one man Spurs will be looking to acquire is Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman.
Spurs have apparently been scouting the Nigerian, who was named last year's African Footballer of the Year, for several months. There are 'offers estimated at around €45m (£40m) plus a number of bonuses', although it is not clear if the bids have been made or just prepared for the summer, the latter of which seems more likely.
Lookman, 27, has been one of Europe's top players over the past two seasons. Last year, he scored 17 goals and produced nine assists for Atalanta, including a memorable hat-trick in the Europa League final as they beat Bayer Leverkusen to win the trophy for the first time in their history. This term, Lookman has scored 17 goals and produced seven assists in 30 games across all competitions.
Despite being one of Atalanta's key men, Lookman's future at the Gewiss Stadium has recently come into question due to a public spat he had with manager Gian Piero Gasperini. The Italian coach had called Lookman "one of the worst penalty takers" after he missed a spot kick as Atalanta were dumped out of the Champions League at the hands of Club Brugge.
"He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them," Gasperini said. "Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all."
Lookman hit back at his boss by calling his words "disrespectful".