Tottenham are weighing up a move for Eberechi Eze and believe the Crystal Palace forward would be open to joining them.
Spurs have a longstanding interest in Eze, not to mention close connections with the agency that represents him, and they have discussed whether to make him a statement signing for the new manager, Thomas Frank.
Spurs have already completed the purchase of one wide attacker, turning Mathys Tel’s loan from Bayern Munich into a permanent deal for £30m. They would have to pay around double that for Eze, who was one of the Premier League’s most eye-catching performers in the final weeks of last season. It has been reported that Eze’s contract contains a £68m release clause.
The 26-year-old scored his first goal for England in the World Cup qualifying win against Latvia on 24 March and it was the trigger for him to finish the campaign in arguably the form of his career. He scored nine in 13 matches for Palace, including two in the 2-0 league victory at Spurs and then the winner in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Eze can play wide or as a No 10 while the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, even used him as a second striker in the friendly defeat against Senegal two weeks ago. Tuchel is a huge fan. Eze is represented by the influential CAA Base agency, which has a number of players at Spurs, including the captain, Son Heung-min, James Maddison and Pape Sarr.
Son’s longer-term situation at Spurs is unclear. He has one year to run on his contract and will be 34 next summer. He has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League.
Tottenham have agreed a deal to sign Japan international defender Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale. The 20-year-old centre-back will move to north London next month for £5m.