After reportedly missing out on the chance to sign Manchester City winger Savinho, Tottenham Hotspur have expanded their search for an attacking addition which is described as a “priority” before transfer deadline day.
Spurs sold club captain Son Heung-min to LAFC over the summer, opening up a creative chasm which was widened by the season-derailing injury to James Maddison. Those two absentees provided the most assists for Spurs last season, prompting Tottenham to chase after a fleet of forward-thinking players.
A deal for Savinho looks increasingly unlikely. It emerged that City would only be prepared to release their Brazilian winger if they considered it possible to lure Rodrygo away from Real Madrid. That series of dominos never looked likely to topple and ESPN claim that Spurs are consigned to defeat. The search for a new forward, however, is far from over.
The same outlet credits Tottenham with interest in as many as five different players; Maghnes Akliouche of Monaco, West Ham United’s Lucas Paquetá, Xavi Simons at RB Leipzig, Marseille outcast Adrien Rabiot and Leicester City playmaker Bilal El Khannouss.
El Khannouss is the youngest of the quintet at 21 and has been widely linked with a move to Crystal Palace as the replacement for Eberechi Eze—another target Spurs were keen on before Arsenal hijacked the deal. Akliouche is two years older but doesn’t boast the same Premier League experience as El Khannouss, who notably scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January.
Paquetá is even more familiar with England’s top flight after three years in east London with West Ham United while there was a growing expectation that Simons would soon call the Premier League home. Chelsea have long been targeting the Dutch midfielder yet appear to be prioritising moves for Manchester United exile Alejandro Garnacho and Barcelona’s young gem Fermín López.
Rabiot is the most intriguing inclusion on this list of eclectic targets. The former Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus midfielder has been publicly placed on Marseille’s transfer list after a brawl with teammate Jonathan Rowe which Roberto De Zerbi described as a “bar fight.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Tottenham Draw Up Five-Player Shortlist After Savinho Snub.