Less than a month on from Tottenham retaining their Premier League status on the final day of the season they\u2019re making moves for four of the most sought-after talents in the English top flight. Just who exactly do they think they are?<\/p>\n
With Cristian Romero set for the exit and the future Micky van de Ven in the balance<\/a> despite Spurs insisting the Netherlands international is now for sale, the first signing of the Roberto De Zerbi era was announced on Thursday to address an emerging centre-back crisis in North London.<\/p>\n De Zerbi will reunite with Jan Paul van Hecke after Spurs agreed to pay Brighton a hefty \u00a352m fee to sign the 26-year-old.<\/p>\n It was a predictable move made simple by no other team being willing to pay anywhere near that amount for a player with just one year left on his contract, and because of the archaic transfer sway of the traditional Big Six to draw players from so-called lesser teams, despite Brighton\u2019s clear superiority over Spurs in the last two seasons.<\/p>\n De Zerbi is a key factor, too. Not just in the signing of Van Hecke, who has first-hand experience of the Italian\u2019s methods and well-known tactical prowess, but in the strides they\u2019ve taken to lure Sandro Tonali in a \u00a3100m move from Newcastle.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t think it\u2019s unfair to suggest that an approach from Thomas Frank\u2019s Tottenham after a 17th-placed finish would have been laughed off by Tonali and his representatives. As of Monday, Tonali wanted to go to Tottenham, as Fabrizio Romano confirmed De Zerbi as key to the midfielder\u2019s stance<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s going to be any problem with the player, financially or in terms of the contract,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso because the connection between Tonali and De Zerbi is very clear, both from the same city of Brescia, so the connection is very, very good.\u201d<\/p>\n Romano later claimed Tonali is keen on Tottenham despite an \u201capproach\u201d from Manchester City, but after The Athletic reported that the competition they face from the Citizens is \u2018serious\u2019, our friends at TEAMtalk\u00a0intimated<\/a> that Tonali\u2019s preference for Spurs was based largely around the fact that City were yet to really enter the running.<\/p>\n After City joined Tottenham in holding \u2018talks\u2019 with the Italian and his camp, Tonali started \u2018seriously considering\u2019 the move to join the eight-time Premier League winners. Because of course he is.<\/p>\n While they won\u2019t have the same draw as they did under Pep Guardiola, Tonali is said to have been \u2018particularly impressed by the wider package City outlined, including the long-term vision for the player\u2019. Champions League football and the chance of a title challenge under new manager Enzo Maresca can\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n For now we should commend the bold transfer approach from Spurs. At this stage in the transfer window, why shouldn\u2019t they lean on what is clearly enduring transfer sway in a bid to attract the best players possible? But at some point \u2013 if (when) they miss out on Tonali and two other fanciful targets \u2013 they\u2019re going to have to get in their lane.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s David Ornstein revealed on Thursday that they\u2019re also \u2018keen\u2019 on \u00a385m West Ham star Mateus Fernandes in what is a brazen entry into a race with Real Madrid and Manchester United, after Ben Jacobs claimed earlier this week that they had \u201ccalled\u201d to see if a hijack of United\u2019s \u00a350m move for Crycensio Summerville was on the cards. We can tell you, guys \u2013 it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n Summerville is seen as an alternative option to Manchester City star Savinho, who \u2013 like Van Hecke \u2013 is the perfect target for Spurs, in that no other team wants him.<\/p>\n