Tottenham Hotspur have depth in the middle of the park, but they are still lacking overall midfield quality, particularly when it comes to that bit of quality on the ball. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are stars of the future, and while Rodrigo Bentancur and Conor Gallagher were great down the stretch of the Premier League relegation battle under the guidance of Roberto De Zerbi, the Lilywhites can't look at any the veterans they have in midfield and say that these guys are top players.
Spurs need to build a long term sporting project under De Zerbi but still sign players who can start now. They need underutilized players who are relatively young with upside but close enough to their prime years and with enough current ability that they can feasibly start for Tottenham.
Two realistic transfer targets closely linked to Spurs this summer who want more playing time as they are buried on the bench at Premier League Big Six clubs are Liverpool's Curtis Jones and Manchester City's Nico Gonzalez.
Tottenham should be watching Liverpool man
Between the two of them, Jones, who has shown he can be an important player at a top club in English football, looks like the real steal. According to a new report from transfer insider Gianluca Di Marzio over in Italian football, Serie A champions Inter Milan have submitted a 20 million euro transfer offer to Liverpool for Jones. Meanwhile, the Reds are hoping for 30 million euros plus a potential percentage of any future sales.
At 25 years old, future resale value for Curtis Jones becomes less relevant to Tottenham Hotspur, so, basically, for 30 million euros, Spurs could sign one of the better Premier League center midfielders and someone who has a lot more to give than what he has been able to show for Liverpool, especially in this tumultuous 2025/26 season.
Jones could be a classic buy low bargain transfer for Tottenham, and that 30 million euro transfer fee is way, way cheaper than any Spurs supporter would have expected when their beloved club was first getting linked to Jones early in the 2025/26 Premier League season.
A tailor made box to box No. 8, Jones is a great progressor of the ball off the dribble, a decent passer, and has enough technical quality to score from range and create chances. If he costs that little, Roberto De Zerbi may even have to reconsider his idea of keeping Joao Palhinha for about 30 million euros.
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