3 alternative wingers that Tottenham could look at
By Tom Vinall
It feels like Tottenham have been linked with every winger under the sun this summer.
Lord knows that they need one. Let's take a look at three more left-field options for Spurs this summer, that haven't been mooted much, if at all. So not the likes of Federico Chiesa, Desire Doue or Pedro Neto.
3 alternative wingers that Tottenham could look at
The first winger Spurs could look at is Raphinha. The Brazilian winger has had a mixed couple of years at Barcelona but played his role in the 22/23 title win, and has shown flashes of the player he can be.
He found it difficult to nail down a regular spot in the team last season, after the emergence of Lamine Yamal. Raphinha often had to play off the left in order to start games last season.
The 28-year-old is a player of incredible quality, however. Premier League fans would have seen him light up the Premier League when he was at Leeds United, doing well enough to secure himself a move to a club as big and prestigious as Barcelona in the first place.
As touched on above, Raphinha is a player with experience playing on both wings, although he primarily plays off the right-hand side. He is a player who would need no adapting time to the Premier League and is a player bang in his prime so you can expect instant performances.
He has three years on his contract in Catalonia, but Barcelona always finds itself in a position where they need to offload players to raise funds, so that could play into Spurs' hands.
The second winger that could be looked at is Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad in Spain. Kubo joined the Basque club from Real Madrid two seasons ago for a fee of around £5.5m, and shown linear development since.
The Japanese winger registered 7 goals and 4 assists in twenty-four La Liga starts last season, as well as registering 10 big chances created and racking up 1.8 dribbles per game (SofaScore).
READ MORE: Tottenham target another Serie A defender
Kubo's contract runs until 2029, although he reportedly has a release clause of £51million pounds. The winger has been linked to a host of clubs in the past, including Liverpool.
If Sociedad were to demand the release clause, or similar, it would feel like a tough operation financially for Spurs, but they could be persuaded to lower their demands if they receive what they believe to be a reasonable offer.
Finally, and the most realistic suggestion of all 3 - the final winger that could be to Spurs' interest is Johan Bakayoko of PSV.
The Belgian right-winger accumulated 12 goals, 9 assists, and 12 big chances created in 33 Eredivisie games for PSV last season, as well as completing an impressive 2.8 dribbles per game (SofaScore).
Spurs have long since needed a dribbly winger, capable of opening up the pitch by taking opponents out of the game by beating them 1v1. The PSV winger is still just 21 years old, despite already having 59 league appearances to his name.
Bakayoko only has 2 years remaining on his existing contract in Eindhoven, and with the discrepancy between the Eredivisie and the Premier League, this could be financially possible for Spurs.