Tottenham Hotspur spent nearly a record fee to bring attacking midfielder Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig, swooping in from underneath rivals Chelsea to bag one of the best young players of the summer 2025 transfer window.
Spurs thought they were signing a real game changing midfielder and someone who could even supplant the injured James Maddison. Overall, Simons has been pretty poor, and while there have been flashes of brilliance, a lot of his struggles have been down to both his own unpreparedness for the Premier League and Thomas Frank having to set him up for failure with poor options at striker for him to work with.
Tottenham should not give up on Simons at all, and there isn't really a better playmaker for them to sign in the January transfer window either. However, it looks like Spurs are pondering their options just in case, and they are thinking of rescuing a struggling La Liga star from one of European football's biggest disaster clubs.
A star struggling on an awful team
According to a report from Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke, Tottenham continue to be one of the teams interested in signing Real Sociedad star right winger and attacking midfielder Takefusa Kubo, along with Liverpool and Aston Villa. Per O'Rourke, Kubo has a 52 million pound release clause that is valid this January, so Spurs could legitimately sign him in the winter if they want that boost.
Now, Spurs biggest attacking need if clearly on the left wing, and Kubo is very much a left footed playmaker who can either invert on the right wing or play a more traditional 10 role. He doesn't have the long speed, strength, or overall skill set to be a traditional left footed left winger - and certainly not that profile in the Premier League.
But Kubo is a real talent. He was one of the biggest stars in La Liga for a good period of time under Imanol Alguacil back when La Real were a competent side, and he may be undervalued by recency bias because of how horrible Real Sociedad have been this season.
If Tottenham are worried about how Simons is adjusting to the Premier League, Kubo is going to have the same issues, but even worse. Simons has more all around ability and physical strength. But Kubo is such a gem of a dribbler and impossible to catch on the ball with his agility and penchant for the spectacular. He's not going to be a Bryan Gil 2.0, but, at 52 million pounds, Kubo isn't worth it unless if Spurs are sold that his dribbling skills are enough of a trump card.