Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of a couple of discounts this summer transfer window, as they were first able to negotiate down Mathys Tel's permanent fee with Bayern Munich from around 50 million euros to a far more palatable 35 million euros.
And then they were able to get Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for 55 million pounds when his West Ham release clause was priced at 80 million pounds. They also snagged Japanese center back prospect Kota Takai for a mere five million pounds and signed another unwanted Bayern Munich backup, Joao Palhinha, for essentially nothing but his wages by bringing him in on loan.
Perhaps there is one last true transfer bargain left for Tottenham in the summer transfer window, and perhaps he could be the best bargain of them all. Last summer, Spurs were in the market for another center back and bid a whopping 70 million pounds for Marc Guehi, but Crystal Palace weren't willing to sell their top defender for any price.
With Guehi now in the final year of his contract, that mentality appears to be changing, as Palace don't sound too thrilled with the idea of losing one of their two best sellable assets for nothing next year. Per Fabrizio Romano, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish said of Guehi's situation, “Of course, for players of that calibre to leave on a free, it is a problem. It needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind”.
Tottenham can sign one of the league's best CBs
Guehi is one of the best center backs in the Premier League and entering the prime of his career at the age of 25. He's still that young even though he's been one of the best starters in the Premier League over the past few seasons and was a star for the England national team when they were European Championship finalists last year.
Tottenham don't need a center back badly anymore, because star man Cristian Romero isn't going anywhere after Spurs successfully scared off Atletico Madrid and got the Argentinian superstar to commit to the new project under Thomas Frank at manager.
However, Guehi has been such a top target for them that if Palace are willing to listen to offers at half price from what they were asking last year, maybe Tottenham sneak in there and sign one of the Premier League's elite defenders to create a quartet with Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Kevin Danso.
There will be some Spurs fans who would rather see the club spend those assets on more needed positions like midfielders, fullbacks, or forwards, but there are many others who will say that talent is talent. And if Palace aren't going to let Guehi leave for free, they had better be willing to take a steep discount. Assuming that's the case, Tottenham could do well to load up.