Tottenham’s transfer queue just added one big name

With a month to go until the summer transfer window opens, Tottenham’s already being linked to some big summer moves.

In keeping with a trend that’s developed over the past year, the names here almost matter more than the possibility of the deals themselves. In short, Tottenham’s ascendancy up the Premier League table opens them up to a different market entirely.

Let’s start with arguably the bigger of the two. Numerous publications, including ESPN, cite L’Equipe’s story about Monaco playmaker Thomas Lemar being linked with a move to Spurs.

If even an iota of this rumor is true, Spurs fans should be supremely excited. Lemar is a genuine breakout talent with oodles of potential and plenty of time to live up to it. He is exceptional.

As it happens, Spurs were among the first outside of France to realize first-hand just how much of a standout Lemar actually is. Along with recently Manchester City signing Bernardo Silva, the young Frenchman absolutely menaced Tottenham in their Champions League group stage match back in the autumn.

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Lemar would go on to play a large role in Monaco’s barn-burning run to that competition’s semi-final. Understandably, with each successive win Lemar’s blip on European football’s radar got larger and more urgent. Even after eventually losing out to Juventus, Lemar was still billed as hot property for the upcoming transfer window.

Tottenham is not in the habit of pursuing players whose most defining property is “hot property” however. Indeed, as they finance a new stadium and make a brief detour to Wembley next season, they would likely be more inclined to seek something of the opposite in any potential player. More interest from competing clubs only drives prices up.

All that said: if the club were ever going to break with such self-imposed rules, a player like Lemar should be the one they do it for.

Even if HotspurHQ’s stance on Spurs’ need for another attacking midfielder is decidedly negative, there is always room in any squad for a player of Lemar’s caliber.

He’s got the sense of direct play that Tottenham so desperately need, while also serving as a canny playmaker in his own right. Such skillsets are reflected in the fact that he scored 14 and assisted as many other goals in all competitions with Monaco this season.

Like Spurs’ star Dele Alli, what makes Lemar particularly intriguing is the fact that he’s still so young. At only 21, there are years left before Lemar even begins to reach his peak form. In sum, if this is what he’s doing now, there’s no telling where his ceiling is at.

Now, all this comes with the usual disclaimers and caveats. He’s relatively inexperienced, and that experience has almost exclusively come in Ligue 1, considered by many to be a second tier league. There’s also the matter of salary — half a dozen other clubs out there would be willing to pay Lemar more than Spurs’ 100,000-a-week cap.

Next: Tottenham Player Review: Dele Alli

Last but not least, what do you do with the players Lemar hypothetical arrival would displace? Dele and Christian Eriksen’s jobs are secure, but what of Heung-min Son or Erik Lamela? Short of selling them, Pochettino would have no other option than the bench for those two immense talents.

For the moment though we can inhabit the fantasy world of Tottenham being a big money club making big money moves, regardless of consequence. It’s unlikely to happen, but one can dream.