Tottenham Hotspur had an active summer transfer window, but it's been a mixed bag in terms of overall success. Keeping Mathys Tel permanently from Bayern Munich was a wise move long term, Joao Palhinha has been a big success on loan from Bayern in the defensive midfield, and maybe Randal Kolo Muani can offer something later in the season at striker.
But by and large, the only truly successful, immediate upgrade Tottenham have made to their starting lineup from the summer window of business was right winger Mohammed Kudus. The former West Ham star has been even better under Thomas Frank at Tottenham, and, without him, the Spurs attack would be somewhere in the Premier League's gutter.
More help is needed, and some transfer rumors have been circling back to West Ham as a place where Spurs could find that help. Proven Premier League goal scorer Jarrod Bowen was a great one-two punch with Kudus in West London, and he is a leader and consistent difference maker in the final third.
Tottenham won't sign rival star
The problem is that he won't be available. According to a new report from Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke, Bowen is "highly unlikely" to leave West Ham next year, as the Hammers are fully expected to swiftly turn down any and all transfer offers for him, unless they are of an "irresistible" nature.
It makes sense, after all. Bowen is by far their best player, and after the sting of losing Kudus to rivals Tottenham and then watching Spurs trample over them 3-0, they will hardly want to part ways with an even more important player - least of all to a direct Premier League rival.
Bowen is versatile enough to play through the middle or on the right, but like Kudus, he does his best work with that trusty left foot of his from the right side of the attack. So spending a boatload of money on Bowen in order to sway West Ham honestly wouldn't make sense for Spurs from that vantage point, since they'd have to sacrifice someone from the right hand side.
And even though left footers should be scarcer than right footers, Tottenham's real problem is on the left side of the attack, as the big shoes of Son Heung-min still have not been filled. Bowen could have been a worthwhile investment as a secondary scoring option since Tottenham need the goals, but it looks like he can be crossed off the transfer wishlist.