There is no doubt that, at the moment, Tottenham Hotspur are the Premier League’s great entertainers.
Ange Postecoglou’s side might still be suffering from the same problems that saw them eventually finish in fifth last season, but for every lacklustre performance they put it, you can be sure they’ll look like one of the best attacking sides in Europe the following game.
With that said, the Spurs faithful want to see their side do more than entertain and to ensure Postecoglou can maintain his record of winning a trophy with every team he manages, Daniel Levy and Co must provide him with more sensational talents in the coming transfer windows.
1
Tottenham
23
16 (10th)
2
Manchester City
22
23 (2nd)
2
Brentford
22
16 (11th)
3
Liverpool
21
28 (1st)
3
Chelsea
21
19 (3rd)
4
Brighton
19
19 (6th)
5
Arsenal
18
19 (4th)
Fortunately, recent reports have revealed that the North Londoners have now identified one of their targets for 2025, a player with a trophy cabinet full to the brim and someone constantly compared to former Lilywhites great Paul Gascoigne.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from Football Insider, Tottenham have identified Jack Grealish as a key transfer target for next year.
The report claims that Postecoglou is ‘keen to bolster his attacking options’ and that the dynamic England international ‘fits the bill’ as a ‘creative winger’ who can slow down games when needed, create out wide and draw countless fouls to help his side progress up the pitch.
A price is not mentioned in the story, but given the fact that there will be just two years remaining on his £300k-per-week contract come the end of this season, it seems incredibly unlikely that the Premier League champions will demand anything close to the £100m they paid for him three years ago, especially as sites like Transfermarkt now value him at around €55m, which is about £46m.
Now, signing Grealish will likely still cost Spurs a significant sum of money, but given his undeniable ability, spectacular record of winning things and comparisons to a certain Paul Gascoigne, he would be worth every penny.
Grealish's comparisons to Gascoigne
Over the last decade or so, there have been several talented English players who have been compared to the mercurial Gascoigne, from Phil Foden at City to Jack Wilshere at Arsenal and even Ross Barkley when he was breaking through at Everton.
However, none of them have seen the tag stick to them for quite as long as Grealish, and while there are some differences between the two players, it’s not hard to see why.
For example, when he was really making a name for himself among the wider footballing public at Aston Villa during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, in which he racked up a combined tally of 35 goals and assists in 68 appearances, former Watford captain Troy Deeney called him “the closest thing to Gascoigne” in the modern game.
Appearances
39
213
135
Goals
5
32
14
Assists
7
41
20
Goals + Assists per Match
0.30
0.34
0.25
The former professional’s rationale was that, like the Newcastle-born maestro, the Villa ace was “absolutely fearless” and that, regardless of the opposition, he was a “maverick” on the ball and could “turn a game on its head” all by himself.
It wasn’t just Deeney who thought this way, though, as former City star Shaun Wright-Phillips also dubbed the Birmingham-born entertainer “the closest thing you’re going to get to Paul Gascoigne”, arguing that “you can have two players on him but he’ll find the way through to create that chance,” akin to the former Spurs star’s immense technical ability.
Now, it would be fair to say that some of that explosiveness and unpredictability has disappeared under Pep Guardiola’s management.
However, under a manager such as Postecoglou, who wants his players to take on opposition defenders as often as possible and play a high-octane brand of football, there is no reason why the 29-year-old “magician”, as dubbed by Rio Ferdinand, couldn’t get back to his Gascoigne-esque best in N17.
Ultimately, while there is an element of risk in signing Grealish due to his lack of game time this season, his previous performances for Villa, and even during City’s treble-winning campaign, in which he racked up 16 goals and assists in 50 games, show that at his best he can be unpredictable and incredibly dangerous, just like the former Tottenham icon.
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1 ByJack Salveson HolmesNov 13, 2024