Spurs set to enter bidding war for “generational” £50m star

This summer feels like a pivotal one for the Tottenham Hotspur project.

Daniel Levy and Co made the bold and somewhat unpopular decision to sack Ange Postecoglou due to his Premier League record and replace him with Thomas Frank, who has no experience managing a major club.

Moreover, the Danish coach might have to do with club captain and fan favourite Son Heung-min, with reports now suggesting he might’ve played his final game for the North Londoners.

So, along with bringing in a swathe of other players, the club might need to find an heir for the South Korean superstar, although, based on recent reports, they might’ve already done that.

Tottenham transfer focus

Recent windows have seen Spurs go big on young talents like Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, so when it comes to finding a long-term heir for Son, it would make sense to see the club continue with the trend.

For example, there have been links to the £67m Xavi Simons of RB Leipzig and even Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund at one point.

However, with not much seemingly happening concerning the former and the increasing likelihood that the latter joins Chelsea, another name has popped up: Alejandro Garnacho.

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Spurs are one of several teams interested in the Manchester United star.

In fact, the report claims that the North Londoners are expected to soon find themselves in a bidding war for the young Argentine, alongside the likes of Aston Villa, Napoli, Atlético Madrid and the Blues.

The bidding is expected to start at close to £50m, meaning there is a chance the price could quickly balloon.

It would be a complicated, costly, and perhaps not massively popular transfer, but given Garnacho’s ability and potential, it might just be one worth pursuing for Spurs, especially with the idea of him replacing Son in the long term.

Why Garnacho would be a good signing

Now, the first thing to say is that we do not think nor expect Garnacho to be able to reach the levels of a peak Son within the next season or two.

Still, there is no reason to think he couldn’t one day get there, especially as he’s already performing at a good level in a terrible Manchester United side and at such a young age.

For example, despite being just 19 years old in the 23/24 season, the Madrid-born phenom was able to rack up a pretty impressive tally of ten goals and seven assists in 50 appearances, totalling 3574 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.94 games, or every 210.23 minutes.

Then, as the team around him got even worse this season, the 20-year-old dynamo was able to score 11 goals and provide ten assists in 58 appearances, totalling 3568 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.76 games, or every 169.90 minutes, which again, for someone so young is undeniably brilliant.

Moreover, to go along with his promising levels of output, the eight-capped “generational” international, as dubbed by Statman Dave, also has some pretty strong and encouraging underlying numbers to his name at the moment.

According to FBref, he sits in the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for total shots, the top 5% for progressive carries and touches in the opposition’s penalty area, the top 7% for progressive passes received and carries into the penalty area, the top 11% for shot-creating actions stemming from shots and more, all per 90.

Finally, on top of his output and underlying numbers, the 20-year-old phenom is also positionally versatile, so while he could ultimately settle off the left, his presence in the squad would give Frank more options to set up his attack just how he would like it.

Ultimately, this might not be a transfer that excites fans, to begin with, but Garnacho has the raw ability and potential to be something special and Son’s long-term heir, so Spurs should do what they can to sign him this summer.

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