Tottenham Hotspur came into the summer 2025 transfer window with most of their focus on adding talent on the wings, building a squad of wide hybrid creators and goal-scorers with Dominic Solanke as a well-rounded focal point in the middle, supplying chances for the wingers while scoring goals of his own.
Understandably, the main transfer target out wide for Tottenham was Bryan Mbeumo, given the fact that he scored 20 goals with 7 assists last season in the Premier League as a massive breakout star for Brentford under current Spurs coach Thomas Frank.
But frustratingly, Tottenham didn't try all that hard to sign the 25-year-old forward, and Mbeumo is almost certainly headed to Manchester United. From the get-go, though, Tottenham had another breakout star from the 2024/25 Premier League season tabbed as their top Plan B on the right wing, Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo.
Tottenham were never going to spend anyway
Likewise, Tottenham's interest in Semenyo fell off just as quickly as their interest in Mbeumo, and that's almost certainly due to cost. Tottenham spent 65 million pounds on Solanke in 2024, as he was Bournemouth's breakout star of the 2023/24 season, just as Semenyo was last season. And they would have spent the same on Semenyo this summer had they wanted him.
Now, Semenyo is well and truly off the table unless if Tottenham want to spend an even more exorbitant amount on the 25-year-old, as Fabrizio Romano reports that Semenyo has signed a long-term contract with the Cherries through the 2029/30 season.
Tottenham no longer have a right winger transfer target on their radar with Mbeumo dropping off the list and likely on to Manchester United - and now Semenyo is confirming that he will be with Bournemouth for the foreseeable future. And certainly not at Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have already pivoted to West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus as their main attacking target, as they have likewise started to drop Eberechi Eze off their list, too. Kudus is more of a left winger than a right winger - the same for Eze, though he is an attacking midfielder at heart - so it will be curious to see if Frank and the Tottenham decision-makers begin to look for a different option who could potentially compete with Dejan Kuluseveski for starts on the right side of the Tottenham attack in 2025/26. There are other options out there, even if so much energy was spent on discussing Mbeumo and Semenyo as the top two.