Now that Tottenham Hotspur have signed Mohammed Kudus for the right wing and are close to completing a deal for Morgan Gibbs-White at the heart of the attack, pending Nottingham Forest's childish dispute, they can turn their focus to their acutal biggest position of need.
Tottenham need, quite frankly, multiple reinforcements at the base of their midfield if they want to truly compete at the highest levels of the Premier League and Champions League next season under new coach Thomas Frank, who already missed out on one of his preferred No. 6 options this summer when Arsenal swooped in suddenly to steal Brentford veteran Christian Norgaard.
There are a number of legitimate options available in the defensive midfield on the summer transfer market, but the best bargain one might just be Richard Rios. A breakout star at the Copa America tournament last year, Rios, once again, stood out in an international summer tournament this year with Brazilian side Palmeiras at the Club World Cup.
Tottenham could lose out this weekend
Rios has been courted heavily by Roma in Serie A, but the Italian giants have been slow to meet Palmeiras's valuation of 30 million euros and have apparently left the transfer battle entirely. That leaves the door open for Tottenham to move in relatively uncontested for the 25-year-old midfielder.
However, a new suitor is emerging with more gusto. Loosely linked to Rios, Portuguese giants Benfica are now poised to move in for the Colombian international. According to new information from insider Fabrizio Romano, Benfica's sporting director is on a "mission" to sign Rios and is heading to Brazil with the intent that his club "accelerate" a transfer and sign Rios this weekend with a "direct meeting" happening between the parties.
Tottenham have fallen well behind the eight ball here. For just 30 million euros, they could take a punt on a player who beat some of the world's best in back-to-back summers at the Copa America and Club World Cup tournaments, showing the kind of production and athleticism that could translate well to the Premier League.
As August nears, the longer Tottenham wait, the more of a risk they run of not signing any top defensive midfield targets at all, especially with dream options like Adam Wharton so onerously expensive that Spurs supporters can't trust the historically stingy Daniel Levy to suddenly splurge on a No. 6 to the extent of a 100 million pound transfer.