Tottenham are in need of a midfield overhaul in the summer 2025 transfer window. Experienced Premier League starters Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are two high-profile names who could be out the exit door this year, with LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid already circling Bentancur.
Spurs will need to find both economical and ambitious transfer solutions to refill those positions in midfield, especially since they will need better players than, say, Bissouma to compete at the highest level of the Premier League.
One of those players is United States national team star Johnny Cardoso, who is now arguably the second-best American in world football behind only national legend Christian Pulisic of AC Milan fame. Cardoso has been one of the top box-to-box midfielders in LaLiga for two years running, and unlike players like Sergio Reguilon and Bryan Gil who have failed as Tottenham transfers from Spain, Cardoso has a great physical and athletic profile.
Johnny Cardoso may negate Tottenham's special release clause
But according to a report from local Spanish paper El Desmarque's Alvaro Borrega, Cardoso may not even move this transfer window after all. Cardoso reportedly isn't sure if he wants to leave Real Betis this summer, as Betis are in the Conference League Final against Tottenham's Premier League rivals Chelsea, and they are also in Champions League contention within LaLiga.
Tottenham actually have the first track to sign Cardoso because of a special 21 million pound release clause that would allow Spurs access to signing the American star for far less than market value as part of the Giovani Lo Celso transfer. But that deal won't be valid after June of this year, and if Cardoso doesn't want to move, then he pretty much unilaterally vetoes that clause and a 2025 transfer.
Because there's the matter of competition, and even though Tottenham have fought hard to reach the Europa League Final against Manchester United this year, they are 17th in the Premier League and not the most favored competitors to sign Cardoso without the advantage of that clause.
Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are expected to bid for Cardoso in the summer 2026 transfer window, and if Cardoso wants to play in the city of Sevilla for one more season, he could do so before moving to one of LaLiga's three biggest teams or playing for the most widely supported club in the United Kingdom.
Either way, if Cardoso rejects Tottenham and a move from Betis this summer to move to any Premier League club next year, including their Europa League Final opponents Manchester United, Tottenham will feel doubly burned by the American star. Cardoso is almost the perfect player athletically to fill Tottenham's gaping need for a top young box-to-box midfielder, so missing out on him would sting a whole lot.