Tottenham rush to complete deals before preseason tour

Tottenham take on Paris Saint Germain in Orlando on Saturday, which leaves only days to finalize long delayed transfer deals.

Kyle Walker’s sale to Manchester City last week will provide the means by which Tottenham sweep for at least one — and as many as three — players.

The first of Spurs’ public preseason games serves as a convenient deadline to acquire those players. A full preseason isn’t always required, but Mauricio Pochettino’s methods do take time to sink in. The more time with the team ahead of the August 13th kickoff against Newcastle, the better.

Estudiantes defender Juan Foyth seems the most likely to be completed before Spurs travel to the United States. The 19-year-old is expected to cost Spurs around £8 million.

Foyth’s age and lack of experience outside of Argentina might not mean he immediately gets meaningful minutes, even in the brief tour of the States. More likely, should the transfer actually happen, he will enjoy some substitute appearances ahead of a season largely revolving around indoctrinating him to England and his new club. Similar to how Pau Lopez was handled last season.

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More intriguingly — or frustratingly, depending on your perspective — is the possible arrival of Ross Barkley. Spurs were once thought to be priced out for the Everton midfielder, but now it seems that Ronald Koeman’s team might be willing to play ball again.

Unlike Foyth, Barkley might actually have a big role to play in Spurs’ games against PSG, Roma and Manchester City next week. One would assume that he will come to the club expecting to have as big of a role as he did at Everton. That means involving him in the starting XI early and often.

Where exactly Barkley might feature is a bigger question. He’s nominally an attacking midfielder, though given his inconsistent nature it is truly hard to imagine the 23-year-old displacing any of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli or Heung-min Son — all of whom will presumably be included on the US tour.

It’s possible that he might be entrusted with the role typically given to Mousa Dembélé — specifically, a direct dribbler capable of linking up possession with attack. Pochettino will want some defensive acumen in that role however, something that Barkley never really demonstrated when playing for Everton.

All such talk about Barkley in central midfield might be moot if the most outlandish rumor of late actually becomes a reality. Real Madrid’s acquisition of midfielder Dani Ceballos this weekend makes Mateo Kovacic’s move away from the club all but inevitable. According to the not-always reliable Sun, Spurs have already had a £22 million offer turned down for the Croatian.

If the two parties can reach an agreement — and if Kovacic is willing to take what is likely to be a pay cut — it seems obvious that he would be the natural successor to Dembélé at the center of the park. His game is different than the Belgian’s, but his passing range and ability to get forward should allow him to fill the void all the same.

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At present these three appear to be the most likely for Spurs to move on before they travel across the Atlantic. Given Daniel Levy’s negotiating pace, it would be a genuine marvel for even one of these deals to be completed that quickly however.