Tottenham to obliterate transfer record as target snubs Man Utd and brutal Levy shows flop the door

Tottenham are confident they can win the race for Eberechi Eze this summer with FOUR factors giving them the edge of fellow suitors Manchester United and with a surprise exit helping to fund a club-record swoop for the Crystal Palace star.

Ange Postecoglou’s side made major strides in the season just gone, finishing fifth in the Premier League to qualify for the Europa League, though ultimately finishing short of their top-four target. While that marks a dramatic improvement after coming eighth the season before, their campaign was tinged with disappointment and ‘what-might-have-beens’, having led the table after 10 games and with Postecoglou himself even refusing to rule Tottenham out of the transfer race.

Ultimately though, their squad became too stretched as injuries and suspensions bit hard over the winter and Spurs fell off the pace.

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Now plans are in place to furnish Postecoglou – who quickly won over the fanbase with his approach to the game and his no-nonsense demeanour – with even greater quality and TEAMtalk understands that three signings are right at the forefront of the Spurs managers mind with a left-sided centre-half, a creative midfielder-cum winger and a new No 9 all on his transfer radar.

And it seems that the first of those deals is already gathering serious pace with the transfer window due to officially open for business later this week.

And that’s after Tottenham learned the price needed to sign England star Eze with an exit clause in his contract clearing the path for the brilliant attacking midfielder to make the move away from Selhurst Park this summer.

Tottenham transfers: Man Utd beaten to Eze as release clause emerges

As revealed over the weekend, his release is set at an initial £60m, with a further £8m in achievable add-ons and bonuses helping to take the deal towards what would be a club-record £68m for Spurs.

Such a sum would prove a new record mark for Spurs, with their current top figure set at the £54m spent on Tanguy Ndombele back in summer 2019 and with the signing of Eze set to obliterate that.

The 25-year-old underlined his qualities with a brilliant end to the season at Crystal Palace, scoring eight goals and laying on three assists in his final 12 games to earn a place in Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man England squad for the European Championships and ultimately confining Spurs favourite James Maddison to the sidelines (and provoking something of a tantrum from the player on social media in the process).

That saw Eze finish the season with an impressive 14 goals and four assists from 27 appearances, though his form has alerted more than just Tottenham to his potential signing.

Indeed, Manchester United have also been strongly linked with his signature, with a report on Sunday claiming Sir Jim Ratcliffe was hoping to match any Spurs offer for the Eagles star.

However, four factors put Spurs in a very strong position to win this particular race with the club already in a position to finance his signing – United, by contrast, would need to sell first, having prioritised the signing of Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton already – while Eze himself wants to stay in London and close to his Greenwich routes.

Furthermore, it’s also claimed that Eze has already indicated a willingness to move to Tottenham, feeling a move to N17 would be better for his career at this time than a move north to the pressure bowl that is Manchester United.

And finally, it is also understood the fee is also no issue to chairman Daniel Levy either, who is ready to pay his release clause and provide Postecoglou with a brilliant first addition of the summer window.

Tottenham make brutal call on Tanguy Ndombele

It won’t be all incomings though this summer and a report earlier this summer suggested 11 players would be allowed to depart north London as Postecoglou looks to ruthlessly shed his squad of their unwanted players.

Now it seems the first of those is starting to take shape with Levy reportedly having told club-record signing Ndombele he can leave on a free transfer.

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The France midfielder has proved a massive disappointment for Spurs since arriving from Lyon for that £54m fee in 2019. He has made just 91 appearances for the club and has not featured for the club since January 2022.

Having joined Galatasaray on loan last summer with an option to make the move permanent, Ndombele – as had happened with Napoli the year before – failed to convince them to make his signing a long-term one.

As a result, he is now due to return to Spurs this summer for pre-season training.

But with just a year left on his deal, Ndombele has now learned he does not have any sort of future at the club and it’s reported he has now been cleared to leave as a free agent.

As a result, his agent is now actively seeking a new home for the 27-year-old as he looks to get his career back on track.

Other first-team stars to leave the club this summer include Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier, Ivan Perisic and Japhet Tanganga.