Tottenham will need to revamp their midfield in the summer 2025 transfer window, Veterans Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur are possible names on the chopping block, with Atletico Madrid, in particular, interested in the Uruguayan international.
Since Tottenham will have to sell to buy, Spurs may need to go after free agents or cheaper options to fill out depth in the squad, while still focusing on players of high enough quality to at least be rotational options for a team that desires consistent Champions League football. Selling Bentancur and Bissouma would help the team financially but open up even more holes in the squad that need to be filled with both superior players to them and depth options.
A young talent that has been high on Spurs transfer wish list for the summer market is impending Lille free agent Angel Gomes. While Gomes has been overshadowed by Jonathan David, he's also been in pretty high demand among Premier League clubs, and Tottenham are in a great position to land the 24-year-old center midfielder.
Manchester United want Angel Gomes back
Now, CaughtOffside's Mark Brus is reporting that Manchester United are considering trying to steal away Gomes from under Tottenham and reunite with a player who was once one of their top prospects before breaking out in Lille.
Although Gomes hasn't done much this season with only 10 starts and 14 total appearances to his name, he was one of the best playmakers in France in the previous season with eight assists, 1.5 key passes per game, and a pass completion percentage exceeding 91 on about 50 pass attempts per match.
Tottenham should not take Gomes's potential or strong 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons as reasons to sign him. Free agents are often the biggest scams in world football, owing to the high wages and agent fees that must be paid to them.
With a club as big as Manchester United in on him and others around the Premier League, the cat is already out the bag on Gomes. There is no unheralded bargain here. Gomes is coming off a bad season in a contract year and has some injury red flags with around 10 games missed in the 2024/25 season.
Tottenham need to go after players who are more robust than Gomes. He is a good playmaker, but Tottenham already have two better and more multi-faceted playmakers in Dejan Kulusevski and, of course, James Maddison. They also have Lucas Bergvall, Mikey Moore, and Archie Gray in their squad.
James McAtee of Manchester City is a much better playmaking option with more future upside, even if he is more expensive. Tottenham need to go for premium options and let clubs like West Ham and Manchester United that consistently make bad decisions go after a good-but-not-great player who is going to get paid like a great midfielder in wages as a free agent. Gomes is overrated and doesn't have the all-around quality Tottenham need, particularly when you look at his progression on the ball and defensive deficiencies.