Sport Witness

On July 9th, we covered claims from Spain that Tottenham Hotspur are ahead of Real Madrid in the chase for Espanyol goalkeeper Joan García. It was also stated the Premier League side could launch an attack to sign him this summer.

Last week, Sport reported García can only leave if his €25m release clause is activated.

Thursday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo says Tottenham are one of the goalkeeper’s ‘strong suitors’.

The stopper started featuring regularly towards the end of last season, and managed to keep 12 clean sheets and conceded 10 goals from 21 games. He played a role in helping Espanyol secure promotion to the top flight.

Spurs, Real Madrid and Arsenal have taken notice of his performances, while Espanyol are determined to fend off the interested parties. La Grada recently reported his clause will increase later in the window.

Mundo relay that and state that the Spaniard’s clause will increase to €30m from August 15th. They add the buyout clause will further rise to €35m if he were to receive a call up from Spain’s senior team.

La Roja manager Luis de la Fuente will announce his squad in August, for September’s international break. Unai Simon will be on the sidelines for four to five months.

Mundo suggest there could be a possibility for De La Fuente to pick García, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Arnau Tenas. If that happens, the Espanyol player’s asking price will be €35m.

Tottenham or another club keen on signing García must hurry up, to avoid paying more after August 15th.

Brazilian outlet Premier League Brasil shares some interesting updates on Emerson Royal’s situation at Tottenham Hotspur.

The website claims that with AC Milan now looking weaker in the chase for the fullback, another club joined the race.

It’s first explained that the Rossoneri, who already had a €15m bid rejected by Tottenham, made a second attempt and again failed to reach the €20m request.

Now Borussia Dortmund joined the battle and outbid Milan by offering €20m. Emerson, however, is still to give the green light to that move.

It’s been repeatedly said that the player had a verbal agreement with the Rossoneri, so perhaps that could give them some extra time to find a deal with Tottenham.

Earlier on Friday, reports in the Italian media hadn’t sounded very optimistic about that, though, as it was claimed that the Serie A giants were looking at other options due to Spurs’ asking price.

So we should now wait and see if the player is as keen on joining the Champions League finalists as he was about signing for Milan.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence spent the second half of last season on loan at Genoa, where he clocked in 853 minutes from 16 games.

The Serie A side have decided against using their €10m purchase option but are still keen to sign him this summer.

On June 5th, we covered claims from Italy that Genoa president Andres Blazquez made a trip to London to ask Tottenham to lower their demands to sell Spence.

This claim was backed up by Blazquez last weekend, who insisted that Genoa want to buy the right-back, but Ange Postecoglou’s side aren’t offering any discounts.

Calciomercato claim the north London club are standing firm and are not ready to lower Spence’s asking price below €10m.

According to Genoa sporting director Marco Ottolini, Tottenham’s stance means the club’s efforts to bring the 23-year-old back to the club have to be put on hold for the time being.

“I can’t say that the negotiation is closed because we have almost 55 market days ahead to try to get him back but as of today there are no conditions to renew,” he said.

This indicates the Italian club would only be willing to sign Spence if the Premier League side were to lower the asking price. Spurs have to find a solution for the player if he were to not return to Genoa.

On June 19th, we covered claims from Italy which stated Juventus will face competition from Tottenham Hotspur to sign AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana in the summer window.

The midfielder has a year left on his deal and his future seems to be away from the Ligue 1 side.

Fofana made 37 appearances last season and his performances have caught the attention of several European clubs, including Tottenham and the Serie A side.

That’s according to Tutto Juve, who state Spurs are the ‘favourite’ to sign the 25-year-old this summer.

Arsenal, Manchester United and the Turin club have also shown interest in the France international.

It’s claimed Ange Postecoglou’s side ‘want to get ahead of everyone’ in the race to secure his services. The report further adds Tottenham ‘could spend €30m’ to bring the player to London.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Giovani Lo Celso have deals expiring in 2025, and are expected to leave Spurs after being restricted to limited playing time last season.

Fofana can be used as a defensive midfielder and in the middle of the pitch. His versatility can provide Postecoglou more options if his side were to sign him this summer.

Genoa no longer seem confident that they can permanently sign Djed Spence from Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Following the fullback’s loan spell at the Serie A side, the Italian media were convinced that there would be movements for the 23-year-old’s purchase.

However, as reported by Repubblica and relayed by CalcioGirona, there are some difficulties reaching a deal with Tottenham.

It’s said the London side ‘doesn’t give discounts’, and will not change their request, which stands at €10m.

The story claims that Genoa would rather concentrate on other signings. They take Napoli’s Alessandro Zanoli, who’s believed to be a cheaper player, as an example.

It then remains to be seen what Tottenham have in mind for Spence, as he doesn’t appear to be in the club’s plans.

The fullback had three loans in a row. First at Rennes, then Leeds United and now Genoa, so it would be some surprise if Ange Postecoglou is willing to give him a place in the team.

Spence’s contract with Tottenham runs until 2027, and he’s currentedly valued by Transfermarkt at €8m.

Earlier today, Corriere Fiorentino reported Tottenham Hotspur have expressed an interest in Fiorentina’s Michael Kayode.

Last summer, the 19-year-old returned to the Serie A side, and made 37 appearances for their senior team. He was rewarded with a new deal until 2028, with an option for another year.

Journalist Mario Tenerani, writing his column for Firenze Viola, says Tottenham are pushing to sign the right-back in the summer window.

Fiorentina fans should be worried about Spurs’ interest in Kayode because they are ‘serious’ and have the finances to carry out the deal. Tenerani suggests Tottenham have offered €40m to secure his services this summer.

“Tottenham’s pressure on Kayode could turn into a nightmare for Viola supporters. The English are serious and have significant economic possibilities. They started from €40m and for now Fiorentina have resisted, but if they were to go further the picture could change suddenly,” he said.

Despite the Italy U21 international having a long-term deal, he may still leave Fiorentina this summer if they receive a convincing offer from Ange Postecoglou’s side.

To summarise, the journalist says the Italian club, led by their chairman Rocco Commisso, could sacrifice a player to improve their finances.

Whether that player is Kayode remains to be seen.

On May 31st, TV Azteca stated Feyenoord star Santiago Giménez could favour a move to the Premier League, where Tottenham Hotspur are interested in securing his services.

The striker finished his second season in the Eredivisie with 26 goals and eight assists from 42 games.

According to TUDNRadio, Giménez is ‘very close to joining’ Tottenham in the summer window.

TUDNRadio took to X, formerly known as Twitter to share updates provided by journalist Juan Carlos Cruz, also known as Chiquis. The 23-year-old is with the Mexico squad at the Copa América, but behind the scenes there are movements taking place for his potential transfer.

Chiquis says the Eredivisie side have received offers from Tottenham and Atlético Madrid. He hasn’t provided the fee proposed by these two clubs, but says the La Liga side’s bid is lower than the one tabled by Spurs.

The journalist states the Eredivisie side have requested Los Rojiblancos to at least match the north London club’s offer, which seems ‘complicated’. Therefore, Chiquis says Giménez is ‘very close’ to Ange Postecoglou’s side.

It needs to be seen whether this claim will be backed by the media in the Netherlands.

With AC Milan taking their time to sign Emerson Royal from Tottenham Hotspur, it seems they could even go after an Aston Villa player instead.

The Rossoneri’s chase for the Spurs player started some weeks ago. Today, Calcio Mercato talks about the Brazilian’s wish to make the move. It’s said he’s ‘so enthusiastic’ that he even left other options in ‘stand-by’, just to negotiate with the Italian giants.

It turns out that Milan are still thinking about the signing. They know the conditions and will decide in the next few days if a bid will be delivered to Tottenham. While Spurs demanded €25m, they would initially offer €15m.

That’s where Aston Villa come in, because the Rossoneri are also said to be attentive to Matty Cash’s situation.

It’s said that Milan are currently ‘waiting for signs’ from the Birmingham side about the 26-year-old, as even though he’s set to cost €35m, there’s a chance there could be a discount.

Milan seem focused on landing one of them, and we’ll see whether it’s Tottenham or Aston Villa who can provide the best deal.

On Tuesday, we covered claims from Italy that Tottenham Hotspur have contacted both Riccardo Calafiori’s entourage and Bologna over signing him in the summer window.

It was also said the centre-back’s desire is to join Juventus, to reunite with Thiago Motta.

Corriere di Bologna, relayed by TuttoBolognaWeb, also claim Tottenham have made contact with the Serie A side for the 22-year-old.

Bologna have informed Spurs that the defender won’t leave without an ‘indispensable’ offer. There’s no mention of the fee needed to convince them.

This information is provided by Calciomercato, who also mention Tottenham’s interest in the Italy international. The report mainly focuses on the Turin club’s efforts to try to sign him.

Calafiori only wants to join the Old Lady and they have him on top of their list. Juventus technical director Cristiano Giuntoli’s idea was to secure the deal for €25m, but that won’t be enough.

Bologna are set to sell Joshua Zirkzee, and they don’t have a need to sell more players to raise funds. They are demanding €40m for Calafiori, considering his former club, FC Basel, are entitled to receive 50% of the fee from his sale.

The Serie A side are hoping for the player to impress at the Euros, so that it can attract more clubs and his asking price can increase further.

With Tottenham and Juve among the clubs in the picture, Bologna are expecting a bidding war this summer. Calciomercato say their aim is to sell Calafiori to the highest bidder for over €40m.

Radu Drăgușin’s playing time has been limited at Tottenham Hotspur since joining them from Genoa in the winter market.

To put it in context, the centre-back has clocked in 424 minutes from nine league games for the north London club.

On May 30th, Area Napoli stated the player would consider leaving Tottenham for Napoli on loan in the summer window.

Drăgușin played the 90 minutes in Romania’s 3-0 win over Ukraine in the Euros on Monday. After the tie, TV Play had a chat with his agent, Florin Manea, where he revealed the Serie A side had a scout following the clash between Romania and Ukraine.

“Drăgușin? What can I say, it doesn’t surprise me anymore because I know how he works. If he continues like this, he could become one of the best central defenders in the world,” he said.

“Today my partner told me that there were Napoli observers in the stadium to watch [Ukraine striker Artem] Dovbyk. Perhaps, they saw the game that Dragusin played [laughs]. I think that Chiellini and Bonucci are proud of Drăgușin, they were very important for his growth when he was at Juventus.”

The agent insists the defender made the right choice by joining Tottenham despite his client struggling to get regular minutes under Ange Postecoglou’s orders.

“With Drăgușin we always made the right choices. His childhood dream was to play in the Premier League, last summer Bayern offered him twice as much but he chose Tottenham. He thinks about his career, he is a very intelligent footballer,” Manea explained.

Over the last 24 hours, the Italian media have talked about Spurs’ interest in Bologna centre-back Riccardo Calafiori.

The Romania international’s agent has suggested Tottenham are unlikely to make an approach for him as they are in the market for a different profile.

“Tottenham on Calafiori? From what I know, Spurs aren’t looking for a pure central defender, they are more looking for a flexible defender. In any case, Drăgușin is ready for anything, he is not afraid of competition,” he added.

“I’m not worried because such a strong defender cannot be stopped, his growth cannot be slowed down. However, Tottenham have always placed their trust in him and have faced very strong attackers in Serie A. The only one who seriously put him in difficulty was Lautaro but we’re talking about when Drăgușin played for Salernitana.”