Tottenham Hotspur were left feeling rather empty when Daniel Levy made the bold decision to dismiss Ange Postecoglou at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, just weeks after he ended 17 years of silverware-searching by winning the Europa League.
But Spurs’ 17th-place Premier League was inexcusable, and the cracks ran back through the lion’s share of the previous season, with injuries yet again wreaking havoc down N17.
And anyway, Tottenham have at least appointed the perfect successor, with Thomas Frank having left his admired Brentford post to lead the Londoners into a new era.
With last year’s title paving the road into the Champions League, sights are now set on going from strength to strength. Frank has certainly started off on firm footing there, having welcomed Mohammed Kudus into his brood, with Levy also activating permanent options in Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso’s loan deals.
But more is certainly needed.
The latest Spurs transfer news
Tottenham thought they had reached an agreement to sign Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, but the Tricky Trees are looking to put paid to the move, alleging that the Lilywhites illegally approached the England international.
As such, it appears Frank has swivelled his outfit’s attention to RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons, having initiated talks. Arsenal and Chelsea both have concrete interests of their own.
Simons would add an elite injection of creativity and dynamism into the attacking midfield, but Spurs are also seeking an industrious, deeper-lying player.
And according to Football Insider, their sights are set on Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton. Oliver Glasner is desperate to keep the 21-year-old, with Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi both slated for departures from south London this summer.
Liverpool, Manchester City, and Real Madrid have also been keeping tabs on the English talent, who has been priced north of £100m by the Eagles, looking to fend off interest in their prized possession.
Why Spurs want Adam Wharton
Crystal Palace knew they had a star on their hands when signing a teenage Wharton from Blackburn Rovers for £18m in February 2024.
He had only featured 51 times for Blackburn’s senior side, but increasingly caught the eye for his confident, age-belying performances in the Championship.
Across a term-and-a-half in the Premier League, Wharton has demonstrated a tactical aptitude and coolness on the ball that evades most young midfielders looking to earn their trade, with Three Lions teammate Declan Rice singling him out as a “top-level” midfield prospect ahead of last year’s European Championship.
As per FBref, Wharton ranked among the top 9% of central midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues last season for progressive passes, the top 7% for shot-creating actions, and the top 4% for ball recoveries per 90.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
Through this data, we can glean that the touted talent is nurturing one of the most exciting passing profiles in the business, with his immense rate of recovery indicating an energy and athleticism that would be perfect for Frank’s high-energy style of play.
He’s only played 36 times in the English top flight, racking up five assists, but Wharton has already proven himself to be a superstar in the making, instrumental in helping Palace toward their maiden FA Cup title, defeating Manchester City in the final.
Beforehand, journalist Henry Winter had lauded the maestro as a “passing machine” for his effort against Aston Villa in the semi-final, continuing to label him as “the best player on the pitch.”
Though Tottenham already have talented creative midfielders such as James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, the Englishman is routinely injured and knocked out of kilter, talented though he is, while Kulusevski is more of a workhorse, and whether Frank opts to deploy him down the right flank with a greater regularity remains to be seen.
Simons, a 28-cap Netherlands international, isn’t quite the same profile as Gibbs-White, who can play deeper and is perhaps more embracing of the defensive side of the game, but he would still be a significant addition to a Tottenham side looking to make an impact across multiple fronts.
The 22-year-old, moreover, is tactically sharp and incredibly potent when in dangerous positions, be that as a creator or someone willing to strike on goal. In this way, he could be a wonderful partner for Wharton, whose stroked long passes would find a home at the Dutchman’s feet, who, in space, can make things happen.
|
Xavi Simons – RB Leipzig Career by Position |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Left winger |
41 |
10 |
11 |
|
Right winger |
17 |
5 |
5 |
|
Attacking midfield |
17 |
6 |
7 |
|
Centre-forward |
1 |
– |
– |
|
Data via Transfermarkt |
|||
Wharton is not one-note, either. Across the recent Premier League campaign, injuries limited him to just 16 starts. But, as per Sofascore, he still applied an active defensive presence, averaging one interception and 1.7 tackles per game, also avoiding a single error across the term.
Contrast that with, say, Yves Bissouma, who made six errors of various shapes and sizes despite only starting 16 matches himself, and you can really see the kind of upgrade Tottenham would enjoy in the engine room by signing Wharton.
This steely stability would be perfect for a playmaker such as Simons, who would need to look around and see a fluent system in order to settle and thrive.
Completing these deals would achieve a sense of synergy that simply wasn’t there last season, with Wharton establishing a strong through line into the final third, which Simons could clasp onto and make things happen for a Frank team who promise so much, who are capable of so much.
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