Odds slash on player to join Tottenham in a move that no body saw coming.
Tottenham can expect to boost their transfer kitty by a further £20m in the next 24 hours after agreeing an initial deal with Leicester for Oliver Skipp, while Ange Postecoglou and Co are considering a hijack of the Conor Gallagher deal following his on/off move to Atletico Madrid.
The north London side get their season underway on Monday night when they take on Leicester at the King Power Stadium in what Tottenham hope will be another season of progress under Postecoglou. After starting last season with an impressive eight wins from 10 games before fading away as injuries and suspensions took hold, Spurs fans will be hoping for a similar bright opening this time around.
An intriguing sidenote to Monday night’s opener is the impending move between the clubs of homegrown Spurs midfielder Skipp. The 23-year-old has been on Tottenham’s books since the age of 2008 when he was just eight years old and has gone on to make 106 appearances for the club since his debut back in the 2018/19 season.
However, he has now been deemed surplus to requirements under Postecoglou and speculation over a move away for Skipp has been rife all summer.
Initially linked with Leeds, TEAMtalk revealed the news that the 23-year-old did not want to drop out of the Premier League, thus ruling out a move to West Yorkshire.
Now one of the sides that beat them to promotion last season, Leicester City, are on the cusp of finalising the signing, with the deal potentially going through later today, though perhaps unlikely to be confirmed until after the conclusion of Monday’s game between the sides.
TEAMtalk can confirm that Skipp has already passed a medical and is set to agree a four-year deal at the King Power Stadium.
Tottenham transfers: Postecoglou keen to hijack Conor Gallagher deal
Spurs will receive an initial £20m for the midfielder, with the deal potentially hitting £23m with add-ons.
And with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg having already been sacrificed, Spurs suddenly look a little light in their central midfield area with summer signing Archie Gray the only man currently able to cover first-choice duo Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr.
However, that could be set to change in the closing days of the window as Postecoglou looks to add more options in the middle of the park.
Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli has recently been linked, amid claims he could be allowed to leave the Serie A giants for a fee in the region of €25m (£21.3m).
Despite that, there are also growing suggestions that Tottenham are keeping a close eye on the situation around Gallagher and his on/off move to Atletico Madrid.
The England midfielder, who captained the Blues on multiple occasions last season, has been made available for transfer this summer after being told he will only be a squad man under new bos Enzo Maresca.
As a result, the 24-year-old spent the first half of last week in Madrid as talks over his sale to Atletico Madrid got underway.
However, despite showing a willingess to make the move, the two clubs were unable to strike a total agreement over the structure of a £33.7m deal.
Postecoglou ‘would love’ to sign Chelsea man
Atletico still hope to resolve the situation around Gallagher, but there was major disappointment last week when Chelsea ordered Gallagher back to Cobham following the failure to strike a deal.
As a result, Football Insider now claims Postecoglou is watching the situation with interest and has made it clear to club chiefs he “would love” to hijack the deal and bring Gallagher to north London.
Gallagher has been a top target of Postecoglou ever since the Aussie took charge of Tottenham and came close to launching a move for his services in January.
However, a deal has previously been seen as difficult, owing to Gallagher’s affection for Chelses and unwillingness to sign for one of their bitter rivals.
But after being made clear he is no longer seen as important, it remains to be seen if Spurs could yet convince Gallagher to change his mind.
But with the transfer deadline now just 11 days away, Postecoglou has made it clear that he is desperate to add a new midfielder to his mix before the window slams shut.
