Tottenham Hotspur have to scramble to close out the 2025 summer transfer window on a high, because, as a whole, it's been an underwhelming period for the 17th-placed club in the Premier League despite a few promising moments and signs.
Aside from the acquisition of Mohammed Kudus from London rivals West Ham, Tottenham haven't managed to bag any starting-caliber attackers this summer. They were close to Morgan Gibbs-White, but in agonizing fashion, he re-signed with Forest after the not-so-lovable Premier League underdogs heavily disputed the validity of Spurs purchasing his 60 million pound release clause.
Since then, Tottenham have yet to sign a different attacking midfielder, while their best No. 10, James Maddison, went down with a torn ACL. The focus is now on Eberechi Eze over at Crystal Palace, because most of the alternatives have been taken.
Nottingham Forest themselves just took the main alternative in Manchester City youngster James McAtee, who was pretty frequently linked to Tottenham throughout the summer transfer window. And now, Forest have added another Tottenham transfer target to their list of captures.
Nottingham Forest land top young striker
According to a report from Give Me Sport transfer insider Ben Jacobs, Nottingham Forest are now set to sign Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo, who, alongside Yoane Wissa, was one of the two strikers often mentioned as a possible alternative to Richarlison this window.
Forest will sign Kalimuendo, who is just 23 years old, to a transfer worth 26 million pounds, which is even less than the approximately 30 million pounds they signed bargain youngster McAtee for from Man City.
It looks like Forest are doing Tottenham's M.O. on the transfer window better than Spurs. That is to say, they are signing young, ascending players on the cheap. Tottenham probably weren't going to sign Kalimuendo due to having no buyers for Richarlison, though it's not exactly like they have tried hard to sell Richarlison or even to sign Kalimuendo.
Granted, it was in Ligue 1, which is a significantly easier league for strikers than the Premier League, but Kalimuendo still posted an impressive 17 goals and 3 assists last season that would dwarf any of Spurs attackers from the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Nottingham Forest were Champions League contenders last season, whereas Tottenham were closer to the relegation battle despite ultimately winning the Europa League. And the McAtee and Kalimuendo signings, as well as the GIbbs-White decision, are reminders that Tottenham need to work harder on the transfer market to climb back up to the top five in the current Premier League climate.