Tottenham Hotspur have been slow on the transfer market this year, especially relative to clubs like Manchester United and Manchester City in the Premier League, because they still have to figure out if Ange Postecoglou is going to be their manager next season.
While Daniel Levy continues to drag his feet through the sand on this latest big decision, Tottenham are actually working in the background on depth-level signings to cheaply fortify their squad. You know, the kinds of low-hanging fruit moves that will be generally inoffensive to any manager of the club, whether that ends up being Postecoglou or somebody else.
Lille free agent Angel Gomes has been one the Tottenham radar, and everything that's been reported over the last few weeks indicates that Spurs are serious about competing with the likes of Manchester United and West Ham to sign the English midfielder.
Now, GiveMeSport's Ben Jacobs is reporting that Tottenham are "confident" they will sign Gomes after recently submitting a new contract offer to the player's reprsentation. Because Gomes is a free agent, Tottenham can get this deal done quicker and more easily without organizational infrastructure involved, since they don't have to negotiate with Lille.
Tottenham need Champions League experience
Of course, free agents are really only "free" in name these days. Bonuses and extraneous fees have gone up with Boseman transfers over the last couple of years, as more players and agents, such as Gomes's Lille teammate and likely Tottenham target Jonathan David, are eyeing running down their contracts before cashing in as free agents.
With Tottenham set to return to the Champions League next season, a player like Gomes is attractive to Levy because he is free, English, and has Champions League experience. Although didn't have a particularly good 2024/25 season with just 10 starts, the 24-year-old did have eight assists and 1.5 key passes per game the year before as one of the top creative midfielders in Ligue 1.
Tottenham don't need a creative attacking midfielder as much as a deep-lying one with James Maddison at the 10 and better targets like Eberechi Eze and Xavi Simons on their radar, but it seems like Tottenham like the price and fit of Gomes as a depth option.
Gomes isn't a sure-fire choice, but if the transfer tea leaves are to be believed, Spurs are pretty close to signing him and are the frontrunners. They want him, other clubs seem to be focused on other targets, and he should be easy enough to sign. Tottenham can't come out of the 2025 summer market with Gomes as their only midfield signing, but he isn't the worst start to the window as a supplemental option.