Tottenham Hotspur have been approached by representatives over signing a free agent attacker who featured for his country at Euro 2024, and who also finished the 2020/2021 campaign as the Europa League's top goalscorer.
Spurs preparing for all-important Arsenal clash after international break
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou got his first defeat of the new Premier League season out of the way early, having fell to a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United at St. James' Park last Sunday.
Alexander Isak's winner in the 78th minute was all that split the two teams, with Dan Burn's own goal cancelling out Harvey Barnes' opener beforehand and giving the Lilywhites brief hope they could take a result away from where has been an unhappy stomping ground for Spurs in recent years.
However, Isak ensured it wasn't to be, and Postecoglou now turns his attention to one of Tottenham's biggest matches of the season. The north Londoners take on Arsenal at home in their first match after the international break, and it is a clash which they will be desperate to win.
Speaking to the press after Spurs' defeat in the North East, Postecoglou still praised Tottenham's performance against Newcastle, insisting their opening three performances of the new season have been encouraging.
"Yeah, obviously, very similar I guess to our first away game when we controlled it for the most part, nullified most of the threats that Newcastle have," said Postecoglou.
"It's obviously a difficult opponent here at home. The crowd create a pretty strong atmosphere for the home side, little things go their way but I thought for the most part we handled that really well. Then we gained the ascendancy in the game and we just needed to kill it off and we didn't and a disappointing second goal. I thought we switched off a little bit but the game should have been well over by then. So, another sore one unfortunately where we haven't got the rewards for our play, but ultimately it's three strong performances from the first three games. The results don't reflect it in that way."
It's set to be a long and interesting campaign at N17, especially considering their involvement in the new Europa League format, and tough tests like Arsenal soon await.
Tottenham reportedly wanted to strengthen in midfield before the summer transfer window closed, and to reinforce Postecoglou's squad further ahead of a congested fixture calendar.
With the UK window shut, chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange can only dip into the free agent market if they wish to make further additions, but they'll have to do so before September 14, which is the Premier League's full squad submission deadline.
Tottenham offered chance to sign free agent Yusuf Yazici
According to HITC, the club have now been contacted over the availability of former Lille star and 45-cap Turkey international Yusuf Yazici.
The 27-year-old, who finished the 2020/2021 season as the Europa League's top goalscorer, was also called up to represent Turkey at the Euros this summer. However, that wasn't enough to convince Lille to offer him a new deal, and the attacking midfielder left the Ligue 1 side after six years in June.
Their loss could be Postecoglou's gain, though, as it is believed Tottenham have been offered the chance to sign Yazici on a free transfer, as have other English top flight clubs.
The Turk also helped to spearhead Lille to an unlikely Ligue 1 title in 2021, boasting a career total of 64 goals and 39 assists in all competitions across spells at Lille, Trabzonspor and CSKA Moscow.