Tottenham Hotspur are heading into the 2025/26 Premier League season with aspirations of competing for a top-five place, but after finishing 17th in the league last season, they are living on a pipe dream if they think Mohammed Kudus as the only signing can lift them up to that status.
Kudus is a great help and has the upside to develop into one of the best wingers in the Premier League, but Tottenham's attack is still a way's off of clubs like Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, and even Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.
The best thing Tottenham can do is sign world-class players who are also courted by these elite clubs and actually beat Liverpool, Arsenal, and the others to these signings. That's the best way they can compete to win the title - or at least secure a safe finish in the top five.
Right now, the most prominent of those transfer targets is Real Madrid winger Rodrygo Goes. The talented young forward loves Real Madrid but is now open to a move after feeling marginalized by the club during the 2024/25 season following the addition of superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Tottenham never go for the real big targets
Rodrygo even got his benching orders by the end of the campaign, and even new manager Xabi Alonso hasn't been interested in giving Rodrygo starts; the Brazilian international rode the bench during the Club World Cup.
Recent reports have indicated that Tottenham are finally joining London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as defending Premier League champions Liverpool, with interest in the 24-year-old Madrid forward. But it appears any hopes of signing Rodrygo are premature.
According to a new report from Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg, Rodrygo Goes is, in fact, "not a target" for Tottenham Hotspur. Plettenberg states that the initial rumors that Spurs are after the Real Madrid star are simply "wide of the mark", putting things back to a three-horse race among usual suspects Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea.
It's an entirely unsurprising transfer blow to a Tottenham fanbase that is used to Daniel Levy and the club showing zero interest in actually competing with the big boys in European football for elite targets. It was the same story last year with Desire Doue, this year early in the window with Rayan Cherki, and now it will be the same case with Rodrygo. And every Tottenham fan who doubted this rumor when it first emerged won't even bother saying "I told you so".