Ange Postecoglou is unlikely to ask Tottenham to take up Timo Werner’s option to buy, and TEAMtalk understands an attacker Ruben Amorim wants at Manchester United is being eyed up as the German’s replacement at Spurs.
Werner re-joined Tottenham for a second loan spell over the summer. The 28-year-old’s deal contains an option to buy worth roughly £8.5m.
Werner’s displays this term – returning figures of zero goals and one assist in 445 minutes of action – have done little to suggest he warrants being signed outright.
And according to GiveMeSport, Spurs boss Postecoglou is ‘leaning towards offloading him at the end of the season.’ In other words, the option to buy would be ignored and Werner would return to parent club RB Leipzig.
There has been speculation Tottenham could cut Werner’s loan spell short in January on the back of Mikey Moore’s emergence as a genuine option for the left wing. However, GMS suggest Werner will be retained for the full length of his season-long loan.
Werner’s eventual exit will free up a place in the forward ranks and per the report, Tottenham are already ‘actively scouting alternative options.’
No specific names were mentioned, though TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Fraser Gillan, has been told Tottenham are very keen on bringing Sporting CP’s Marcus Edwards back to the club.
That could put Spurs in direct competition with Man Utd after transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti revealed Edwards is one of three Sporting CP stars Ruben Amorim wants brought to Old Trafford.
Tottenham vs Man Utd for Marcus Edwards – who wins?
On first view, Man Utd would appear to be favourites for Edwards given the Amorim connection.
The Portuguese manager has agreed to become Man Utd’s permanent successor to Erik ten Hag. In turn, Man Utd have signalled their intention to trigger his €10m release clause.
However, when Edwards initially left Tottenham for Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes in 2019, Spurs retained 50 percent of the player’s economic rights.
Edwards subsequently joining Sporting CP three years later in 2022, though crucially, Spurs retained their economic rights in the player.
Their stake in Edwards was later reduced by 15 percent as part of the agreement that brought Pedro Porro from Sporting to Spurs.
As such, Tottenham are in line to receive 35 percent of the transfer fee if and when Edwards is sold by Sporting.
What that also means – given Tottenham would receive 35 percent of Sporting’s profits – is Spurs can effectively sign Edwards for a much smaller sum than other clubs.
That could result in Tottenham being willing to bid higher than Man Utd in the knowledge they’ll receive part of their bid back. Sporting would have no reason to favour a lower offer given 35 percent of the accepted bid would be heading to Tottenham irrespective of where Edwards goes.
Latest Tottenham news
In other news, JuveLive claim AC Milan chief, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has become ‘obsessed’ with bringing Dejan Kulusevski to the San Siro. The Swede has been a revelation this season after transitioning into a central playmaker.
Elsewhere, Postecoglou confirmed injured winger Wilson Odobert suffered a “serious” setback on his road to recovery.
Finally, Gary Neville pointed to Man Utd’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham on September 29 as being the point where Erik ten Hag’s fate was sealed.
“I suspect the Tottenham game was probably a catalyst for them to start thinking about a new manager,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“You look at who is available then you try to think of the timing. You are half hoping the manager can turn it around but 99 times out of 100, the tide is against you and continues to go against you.
“They’ve probably chosen a moment that was decided a few weeks ago – that the next bad loss or bad result, we’re probably going to have to act. That has come [vs West Ham].
“They would have started the process of finding Erik ten Hag’s successor, definitely, because that Tottenham game a few weeks ago did feel like the end.”