Tottenham were having a surprisingly well-executed transfer window up until the last 24 hours. They have spent a record amount of money and have seemingly been methodically working their way through a planned list of targets. However, in classic Tottenham style, they had to bring chaos and panic to the last few days of the window.
Initial links to Cody Gakpo
On Saturday it became apparent that Tottenham were overtaken by Manchester City in the race to sign Cody Gakpo. Tottenham had an agreement on personal terms with the Dutchman since July, and were waiting for Liverpool to sign a replacement in order to complete the deal. This had given time for City to enter the fray, and once they had, Gakpo preferred a move to the Cityzens. Tottenham now needed to pivot and look at other options in their search for a left-sided attacker.
The failed Ndiaye/Richarlison moves
Tottenham turned their attention to long-term target, Iliman Ndiaye. The Senegalese winger had been linked to the North London club numerous times over the last few years. It appeared Spurs had already prepared the groundwork for this deal, because on Sunday morning, less than a day after Gakpo had chosen City, a deal worth £60 million was agreed for Ndiaye. Simultaneously, Everton had agreed a £35 million deal with Tottenham for Richarlison. These moves were separate, but later on it became apparent that they were contingent on each other. Personal terms were agreed with Ndiaye, and the player was ready to travel for his medical.
However, Richarlison was not accepting the contract offer from Everton, and was mulling over offers from clubs in Turkey. Then another crazy twist: the Brazilian striker posted a statement on social media, calling Everton his “favourite team”, but claiming he was being pushed and wasn’t going to be made to do something that wasn’t on his own terms. Tottenham were desperate to get the Ndiaye deal completed as soon as possible, as they knew City were still attentive to the situation.
The byproduct of Gakpo’s failed move to City
News then broke that Gakpo’s move to Manchester City was off, as Liverpool didn’t have a replacement lined up with so little time in the window remaining. City’s second target was Ndiaye, and they had already been in talks with his camp before the Gakpo move. The stalling in Richarlison’s move to Everton gave City the chance to come back in for the Senegalese winger. It became clear almost immediately that once City had come back in for Ndiaye, there was only going to be one winner. Tottenham couldn’t offer Champions League football, and all summer Ndiaye had made it clear he wouldn’t sign a new contract with Everton as he wanted to leave in search of European football. Tottenham had to pivot once again, this time with just over 24 hours left before the deadline.
A new defensive reinforcement
While all this drama in the search for a new forward was unfolding, Kevin Danso had effectively submitted a transfer request as he looked for more game time. This left Spurs needing to search for a new backup centre-back, or go into the season praying they wouldn’t be hit with an injury to their back line. They quickly identified Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo as the ideal replacement. Tosin was another player that Tottenham have been linked with multiple times in the past. The deal was accelerating fast, and personal terms weren’t seen to be an issue.
Can Tottenham revive Mykhailo Mudryk’s career?
This is where things took a chaotic turn. Tottenham then enquired for Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk, a player who has only just come back from a two-year break from football after a doping suspension, and played just 20 minutes of football in pre-season. This sent Tottenham fans on social media not only into outrage, but also bemusement. A window which had seen the club make logical big-money signings, now ending in a style that resonates with the Tottenham of old. However, a loan deal with an option to buy was agreed almost immediately, with the Ukrainian winger eager to reunite with Roberto De Zerbi. The cherry on top being the buy option price of £75 million.
So why Mudryk? As mentioned last month, I spoke of how Tottenham could be looking at a move for Mudryk while in search of a left winger. This was purely down to the Ukrainian’s relationship with Roberto De Zerbi. Mudryk played under De Zerbi during his time at Shakhtar Donetsk and has been on the end of some high praise from the Italian in the past. In 2022, when De Zerbi was in charge of Brighton, he referred to Mudryk as a player who “could win the Ballon d’Or in the future”. On top of that, De Zerbi was also rumoured to be attempting to sign the Ukrainian while in charge of Marseille. The Tottenham manager clearly sees something in Mudryk and believes he can get the best out of him.
Looking forward
Tottenham fans will feel as if they are helping a rival out by taking two players off their hands who have been labelled as surplus to requirement. However, this summer has clearly been a window in which the club have fully backed De Zerbi, and until the last 24 hours it was being praised by many as one of the best in the club’s history. Tottenham fans should see Mudryk as a free hit, and maybe, just maybe, De Zerbi will bring back the player who had Arsenal and Chelsea fighting over him just a few years back.
Is the Tottenham transfer window chaos over? Or do they still have a deadline day ‘bomba’ in store for us?
