Tottenham Wants to Keep N’Jie and Sign N’Koudou

Tottenham are on the verge of signing Georges-Kévin N’Koudou from Marseille but won’t give up on Clinton N’Jie despite the French club’s interest.

It is actually possible to keep Clinton N’Jie while also signing Georges-Kévin N’Koudou. At the moment, Marseille are on the lookout for a replacement should N’Koudou join Tottenham after both clubs have apparently agreed on a £10.8 million fee.

The French Under-21 winger is expected to fly to London within the next 48 hours (if he hasn’t already) to get his medical done according to The Guardian. Now if a deal is close to happening what will this mean for N’Jie’s Spurs’ career?

Related Story: What's Next for Tottenham's Clinton N'Jie?

Nothing. There should be no reason why N’Jie can’t continue to be a Spurs player while Tottenham are in negotiations to sign N’Koudou.

Aside from both of them being French and nearly the same age, the two players are not actually similar. N’Jie is more of an inverted winger/inside forward whereas N’Koudou is your traditional out-and-out winger.

Therefore, it is actually possible to keep one and sign the other.

While Marseille have mentioned Clinton N’Jie’s name in a player swap to have on loan, the Cameroon winger’s involvement is independent of this deal being finalized.

Meaning, this transfer is still possible even though N’Jie is unavailable according to The Guardian’s Ed Aarons from the link above.

"“But despite offers from Hamburg and interest from Bournemouth and Sevilla, Marseille have given Tottenham permission to begin negotiations over personal terms with N’Koudou, and the player is likely to travel to London for a medical in the next 48 hours.“It is believed he will sign a five-year contract after speaking to Pochettino on the phone at the end of last week.”More from Hotspur HQStorybook ending after difficult period for Tottenahm’s RicharlisonTottenham comeback showcased invaluable intangible Ange has cultivatedTottenham player ratings in 2-1 comeback win over Sheffield UnitedTottenham projected starting 11 for Sheffield UnitedTottenham’s Richarlison says he’s going to seek psychological helpThe French club are also keen to take the Cameroon forward Clinton N’Jie on loan from Tottenham just a year after he joined from Lyon, although this is not understood to be part of the N’Koudou deal.“"

If Olymipque Marseille have agreed on a deal to sell N’Koudou despite Tottenham not allowing the Ligue 1 club to have N’Jie in return, it’s because of the money they received after the sales of Benjamin Mendy to Monaco for a reported fee of £7.6 million, while Michy Batshuayi was sold for £33 million to Chelsea.

To receive £40.6 million from two players, Marseille could take their time to find a proper replacement for the impending departure of Georges-Kévin N’Koudou.

After all, getting an inverted winger who can also play as an inside forward, won’t actually replace a player who was mainly an out-and-out winger in the first place.

Time will tell if Clinton N’Jie really is the only player that Marseille have targeted, but for now there’s a chance that N’Jie stays while N’Koudou joins.

Seeing Spurs spend £12 million on a winger last year and give up on him after he missed most of the season with a major knee injury makes no sense. It’s more beneficial to keep N’Jie around to see what he can do while finding room for N’Koudou on the squad.

And based on his strengths, Mauricio Pochettino could use a player of N’Koudou’s abilities.

Hotspur HQ’s Ryan Wrenn already took a look at the French Under-21 international, but Nick Wright of Sky Sports put up some real good information as to how N’Koudou would fit in with Pochettino’s team.

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"“N’Koudou fits the profile of Tottenham’s young, hungry squad, and the Bielsa link is also interesting. The former Marseille boss is one of Pochettino’s biggest coaching influences, and while he only spent a couple of months working with N’Koudou, the decision to sign him shows he thought the youngster was a good fit for the high-intensity playing style both he and Pochettino subscribe to.”“Tottenham’s attacking players are expected to work tirelessly and press high up the pitch when the opposition have possession, and N’Koudou showed his appreciation for that side of the game in an interview with French newspaper La Provence last July.”“Before attacking, you have to know how to defend well,” N’Koudou said. “That is what is asked of us in training: press, press and press, and when you are in the danger zone, that’s when everyone attacks. It’s a style of play that suits me.”"