Tottenham Hotspur were riding high after beating Burnley and Manchester City by a combined scoreline of 5-0 to start the 2025/26 Premier League season under Thomas Frank, and they were sent into a state of ecstasy by the signing of RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons, beating out rivals Chelsea to the signature of one of the biggest midfield transfers in the summer market.
But Tottenham were sent crashing back down to earth with a putrid performance in front of Simons on Saturday, as Bournemouth ripped them to shreds in a 1-0 result that would have been 5-0 if it weren't for the heroics of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who looked like he was back at Empoli fighting relegation instead of competing for a Champions League place in North London.
As if that weren't bad enough, with hours left in the summer transfer window, Tottenham are coming off that horrible attacking display against the Cherries with a potentially major transfer blow to their hopes of landing one last attacking piece to the puzzle.
According to a report from The Athletic's David Ornstein, Bayern Munich have now approached Atalanta to sign Tottenham transfer target Ademola Lookman, who is now seen as Spurs main hope to upgrade an attack that is still looking for a new winger after watching Son Heung-min move to MLS - and watching Manchester City repeatedly reject their bids for Savinho.
Bayern Munich lost out on Nicolas Jackson
Bayern's interest in the Serie A star, previously wanted by Atalanta's competitors Inter Milan, comes on the heels of the collapse of the Nicolas Jackson loan transfer. Chelsea are recalling Jackson on loan after Liam Delap's injury on Saturday in the win over rivals Fulham.
The Bundesliga giants are proposing a loan deal with Atalanta, just like they tried for Jackson from Chelsea, with a "sizeable fee" and an option to buy that will be activated for a "significant price". Lookman already handed a transfer request to La Dea earlier this window, so it is a matter of "when" and "where" - not if.
Tottenham seemed to be a slam dunk for Lookman with nobody else really on the radar, but the 27-year-old left winger/center forward now has one of the three biggest clubs in the world historically going after him. And it's going to be tough for him to turn down the opportunity to rotate with Harry Kane and Luis Diaz.
But the bright lights of the Premier League are also tempting, and at Tottenham, Lookman would be an almost unquestioned starter under Thomas Frank, who has a more magic touch with attackers than Vincent Kompany. This could be a tough battle in the final hours before deadline day.