Roberto De Zerbi has been going hard after Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali, as he has picked out West Ham United's Mateus Fernandes and the Italian international as the two big midfield stars he wants - both together - to overhaul a midfield that has not been quite up to the Premier League standard over the last few seasons.
There is a lot of optimism that Spurs will ultimately land Tonali with how interested De Zerbi is in him, and the only other concretely interested team at this point is Manchester City. Arsenal were very interested in Tonali during the season but have yet to go in for him, while Man City are not pursuing the player with as much vigor.
But Tottenham have yet to pay the 85 million pounds that Newcastle are looking for Tonali, and the longer they drag their feet, the more chances there are of a deal going awry. And now, Spurs have an additional worry. Beyond the threat of Arsenal or Man City swooping in, Arsenal are complicating things by showing an interest in Newcastle's bigger midfield star.
According to a report from Craig Hope and Tom Collomosse of the Daily Mail, Newcastle United are braced for Arsenal making an approach for defensive midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, a crucial player for the Magpies who has been linked with a blockbuster move to either Manchester City or Arsenal (or Manchester United) for at least a year now. Bruno G.'s reps have even begun conversations with Arsenal during his current World Cup campaign with Brazil.
Tottenham Hotspur have to keep Arsenal's interest in Guimaraes on their radar, because if the Gunnesr are able to sign him and are willing to pay up even more than what Spurs are willing for Sandro Tonali, then Spurs have to be worried about Newcastle being satisfied financially and pulling Tonali off the market all together so as to not lose two top midfielders in one window.
So instead of competing directly with Tottenham for Tonali, Arsenal could be hurting Spurs even worse on the transfer market this time around by signing a better midfield player and still taking a top target off the table for Roberto De Zerbi and Spurs.
That pressure puts an additional incentive on Spurs to get the deal done for Tonali quicker, agree to their transfer demands, and close their Tonali deal first before Arsenal get a Bruno Guimaraes deal done and potentially put De Zerbi's pursuit in jeopardy.
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