Tottenham Target, Wilson, Remains with Bournemouth

Callum Wilson was once linked to Tottenham back in May, but a move never materialized and now the 24-year-old has committed his future with Bournemouth for the next four years.

AFC Bournemouth striker, Callum Wilson, who was briefly mentioned as one of Tottenham’s targets to become Harry Kane’s backup in early May, has reportedly signed a contract extension to remain with the Cherries.

The Conventry Telegraph’s Aidan McCartney, wrote that the 24-year-old rejected offers from Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham to sign a new four-year deal.

Bournemouth’s chief executive Neill Blake had this to say following Wilson’s commitment to remain with the Cherries until 2020: “We’re absolutely delighted that Callum has signed a new four-year deal.”

“Callum has constantly improved during his time here and only his injury stopped him from having a big impact in the Premier League last year.”

Indeed, a devastating knee injury wiped out seven months of football for the former Coventry City striker from September 26th until April 9th, after staring the 2015-16 Premier League season in fine form, scoring five goals in six games.

If it wasn’t for an injury, who knows where Callum Wilson would have ended up in the Golden Boot standings at the end of the season. That being said, a proposed move to join Tottenham seemed unlikely from the get-go as Spurs wouldn’t have been able to complete a deal — let alone submit an offer to the Cherries’ liking.

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: Callum Wilson of A.F.C. Bournemouth during the Barclays Premier League match between A.F.C. Bournemouth and Sunderland at the Vitality Stadium on September 19, 2015 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images) /

It was mentioned above, that Spurs were interested in Wilson back in May, but since then nothing ever happened between both clubs.

The only time that Callum Wilson and Tottenham were mentioned in the same sentence, aside from the striker being linked to Spurs, was that Mauricio Pochettino figured the 24-year-old could be dealt in a player swap.

After all, Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe supposedly showed some slight interest in Ryan Mason and allegedly offered £6 million to sign him. That of course didn’t mean much, but with Mousa Dembélé reclaiming his starting job back, Mason’s spot on Pochettino’s squad is doubtful at the moment.

So maybe a deal could have happened, just not involving Wilson in return.

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The main reason why a proposed deal involving Callum Wilson wouldn’t have worked out is because Tottenham would have likely wanted the striker in return if Mason went the other way.

Swapping Ryan Mason for Callum Wilson sounds like a steal, and it is. But that wouldn’t have benefited Bournemouth as they would lose one of their top players for a rotational/backup midfielder who was coming off of his own injury-laden season.

This could explain why a month had passed without a move ever materializing as both Spurs and Bournemouth didn’t see eye-to-eye on some sort of compensation — if there was any at all.

With Dembélé still set to serve the next four games from his six-match ban, Ryan Mason is the starting central midfielder by default. But he hasn’t shown that he can return to his top form from two seasons ago when he made 37 appearances in all competitions (32 starts) and looked to be the future of Tottenham’s central midfield position.

Injuries and poor form haven’t helped, then again from day one the 25-year-old always looked like he was destined to be a bench player and occasional starter when others needed rest.

That may be a knock on Mason’s skills, but it’s important to have depth options. Sadly, Ryan Mason at times can’t fill that role out — be a competent substitute or spot starter — so another player should be brought in to cover for Mousa Dembélé.

Next: Tottenham's Bid for Janssen Scuttled by Billy Beane

Milan Badelj of Fiorentina is one option as the 27-year-old Croatian international closely resembles the Belgian’s playing style. Axel Witsel could be another.

In any case, Callum Wilson was a long shot to join Tottenham to begin with, whether Ryan Mason would have been involved in a player swap or not.

Generally speaking, clubs have no reason to sell a good and talented player because he was recently injured unless they’re surplus to requirements that is. Therefore, Spurs’ interest in Wilson quickly passed away without an offer being submitted.