Spurs start talks to sign “unbelievable” £43m star

When it comes to great Tottenham Hotspur players of the last 15 years or so, you have plenty to choose from.

The likes of Harry Kane, Mousa Dembélé, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen might not have won anything at the club, but they more than made their mark on English football and the Premier League for the North Londoners.

One star from that era who was arguably one of the best players in the country at his peak was Dele Alli.

The Englishman was a tour de force at points, racking up 35 goal involvements in the 16/17 season, so fans should be excited about reports linking the team to a player who was compared to Dele in the past.

Tottenham transfer news

Before we get to the player in question, it is worth looking at some of the other talented stars linked with a move to Spurs in recent weeks and months, like Leroy Sané and Angel Gomes.

With his contract ending this month, the former would be a shrewd free signing, as in just 2376 minutes across 45 games this season, the Bayern Munich ace has scored 13 goals and provided six assists.

Interestingly, Gomes would also be a free addition to the North Londoners squad, and based on reports from earlier this week, they’ve already submitted a proposal to the Englishman, who has made four senior appearances for the Three Lions and 134 for LOSC Lille.

However, neither of these players have been compared to Dele in the past, unlike Jack Grealish.

Yes, according to a recent report from Football Transfers, Spurs are now interested in the Manchester City star.

The report has revealed that the Lilywhites have begun talks with the Englishman’s representatives as they ‘explore the possibility’ of bringing him to North London this summer.

The good news is that the report claims the player is, in fact, open to the idea of moving to N17 now that the club will be in the Champions League next year, but the bad news is that City would want an offer of up to £43m to let him go.

It would be a somewhat costly transfer to get done, but Grealish could be the sort of maverick player Ange Postecoglou needs in his attack next season, and the fact he was compared to Dele in the past is a great bonus.

Why Spurs might want Grealish

So, before we get to some of the other reasons why Spurs might want to sign Grealish this summer, let’s examine these comparisons to Dele, with the first coming from Lee Hendrie all the way back in 2018.

At the time, the young talent was just making a name for himself at Aston Villa, and Hendrie was seriously impressed with his ability to get “past players with ease” and was full of praise for “creative” abilities, which he claimed were similar to “the Dele Alli’s of the world.”

Just a couple of years later, Dean Smith was making the comparison between the Englishmen, claiming that the then-Villa gem shared the same goalscoring “star quality” that the former MK Dons gem had in the early years of his Tottenham career.

Aside from what players and pundits have said, both players have represented the Three Lions at major tournaments, and both, at one point in their careers, had that ability to make something happen out of absolutely nothing.

In fact, it’s the chance to resurrect this skill in the “unbelievable” City star, as dubbed by Pep Guardiola, that is surely driving the Lilywhites’ interest in him.

Even though he played a bit-part role in the Cityzens’ campaign this season, he was still able to amass a decent tally of three goals and five assists in 1521 minutes, which comes out to a goal involvement every 190.12 minutes, and his underlying numbers are even better.

For example, FBref places the 29-year-old in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries, pass completion, shot-creating actions from live passes, progressive and total carrying distance, carries into the penalty area, the top 2% for goal-creating actions from defensive actions, fouls drawn, the top 8% for key passes and more.

In short, while the Champions League winner’s raw output hasn’t been great for several years, his incredible underlying numbers indicate that he could flourish in the right system, which could be Postecoglou’s.

Ultimately, it would be something of a gamble, but in Grealish, Spurs could have themselves a genuine maverick who can make something out of nothing – akin to Dele in his prime.

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