Tottenham Hotspur have struck out on Nottingham Forest superstar Morgan Gibbs-White, meaning they have only made one true transfer in the summer 2025 market, Mohammed Kudus. Mathys Tel was already a foregone conclusion and a part of the 2024/25 Tottenham side that won the Europa League - and finished 17th in the Premier League - as he came over from Bayern Munich in the winter transfer window as a loan acquisition.
Spurs dropped the ball on Gibbs-White and have shown only tepid interest in other mainstay targets and bargain gets alike, including Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze and Palmeiras standout Richard Rios, who is now bound for Benfica.
Tottenham still need another game-changer to join the attack after striking out on Gibbs-White, but they, more pressingly, need midfield reenforcements behind the No. 10 position after struggling mightily to gain a foothold on games against top competition.
A formal transfer offer could be coming
It looks like Joao Palhinha is the last concrete link remaining for Tottenham, who have been frustratingly slow on the transfer market, particularly at the defensive midfield position. They barely showed interest in Rios and were beaten to the punch embarrassingly quickly by Arsenal to Christian Norgaard, who was something of Thomas Frank's coach on the field at Brentford.
Now, the Bayern Munich outcast is the one man left. According to a new report from Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham have "genuine interest" in Palhinha this summer and "more will follow" when it comes to their interest in the 30-year-old former Fulham destroyer. Tottenham, per Romano, have made an "initial approach" but not a "formal proposal" to the midfielder.
At this point, Tottenham are running out of options and time. With August fast approaching, Tottenham are only a couple of weeks from the official start of the 2025/26 Premier League season and, even before that, the UEFA Super Cup final against defending Champions League winners and Club World Cup finalists PSG.
Tottenham can't go into the 2025/26 season with their current midfield situation. They need two players, ideally, to fill the playmaker and destroyer roles, including one young player and one older player. Palhinha can be a relatively affordable veteran destroyer with Premier League expereince, and, well, if Tottenham can't get his signing over the line and end up empty-handed in the middle of the park this summer, then the Gibbs-White transfer saga won't be the only major low on embattled chairman Daniel Levy's part this offseason.