When Tottenham Hotspur hired Thomas Frank as their Ange Postecoglou replacement and unofficially opened their business for the summer transfer window, there was a widespread expectation that the North London giants would focus on signing Bryan Mbeumo as their main transfer target.
With Frank interested in continuing his work with the biggest breakout star of the last Premier League season, there was optimism that Tottenham would compete with Manchester United for Mbeumo and potentially be able to entice the right winger after both beating the Red Devils in the Europa League Final and hiring Mbeumo's former manager.
Instead, Tottenham backed out of the Mbeumo race, essentially handing him on a platter to Man United. They then seemed to pivot to Crystal Palace star attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, fresh off an FA Cup-winning season, as their marquee signing of the transfer window to help support Frank.
Tottenham are going hard for Kudus now
It looks like Tottenham aren't going down the Eze rabbit hole after all. According to a report from The Times, Tottenham have cooled their interest in Eze and are currently considering three players: West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus, Bournemouth right winger Antoine Semenyo, and RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Xavi Simons.
Of this trio, only Kudus appears to be a serious target for Tottenham currently. Spurs have also seemed to be lukewarm on Semenyo due to his exorbitant price tag from the Cherries, who, of course, sold Dominic Solanke to Tottenham last summer for a whopping 65 million pounds. Simons is a wild card, but if Tottenham were unwilling to spend on Mbeumo and Eze, then why would they spend on Simons? It's hard to trust Daniel Levy there, even though Simons is the best of those players.
Eze is a proven commodity in the Premier League, but there are legitimate cons to signing him. He is very expensive with a 68 million pound release clause, and Tottenham already have a top attacking midfielder in James Maddison with additional options who can start as playmakers.
Spurs mostly need help on the front line, specifically the wings, especially if Son Heung-min goes. Eze can play on the wings, true, but he isn't a preferred option as a starter in those spots. Tottenham haven't removed Eze from their wishlist, but after seemingly going hard for him in the last couple of weeks, they have abruptly pivoted to Kudus. It looks like either Frank or someone else at the club got cold feet or simply preferred Kudus and the other options.