New Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has to be scouting around world football closely and leaving no stone unturned as he and the other key decision-makers at the club plan a pivotal transfer window for the incoming manager with a Champions League return on the horizon from Spurs.
There are a few obvious choices for Tottenham to pursue, such as established Premier League attacking stars like Eberechi Eze and Bryan Mbeumo. And then there are the dream options around European football like Xavi Simons, as well as the talented deep-lying midfielders like Adam Wharton at Crystal Palace and Angelo Stiller over in Stuttgart.
It's obvious to anyone who watched Tottenham struggle in the Premier League last season that this team needs at least one top-level defensive midfielder to playmake from deep and/or destroy the opposition defensively. Preferably, they'd go for multiple players who can provide at least one of these qualities.
Palmeiras star Richard Rios isn't the first name on the lips of Tottenham supporters, but the Colombian international, who first emerged on the international radar after a sensational 2024 Copa America tournament, may be becoming a bigger topic this summer.
Standing out in another international tournament
Tottenham have already been linked to the talented 25-year-old defensive midfielder, who can be signed for potentially under 20 million pounds. And if Daniel Levy and Frank's interest in the player were already piqued, then Rios just cried out for significantly more attention from Spurs.
Teammates with incoming Chelsea gem Estevao Willian, Rios actually outshone the teenage phenom on Thursday in the Club World Cup against Al Ahly. Even though Willian picked up another rather undeserved Man of the Match award, everyone who watched the game saw that Rios was the clear standout.
Now obviously, Rios isn't a better player than Willian, nor does he have the same upside, but he is, right now, a standout in his own right and one of the best defensive midfielders in the world playing outside of Europe's top five leagues.
Rios recorded five fouls drawn with three tackles, three interceptions, two clearances, and even a key pass in a nearly perfect all-around performance in the Palmeiras defensive midfield. Palmeiras absolutely blanketed their competition in the Club World Cup, and so much of that credit goes to Rios's brilliant screening.
Hard-nosed in defense and capable of using his body well to progress play and draw fouls on the ball, Rios is a legitimate transfer target for Tottenham and a sign that Spurs must remain willing to expand their horizons beyond Europe for potential transfer bargains. He's worth a look.