After the doom and gloom of a drab 0-0 draw away at Bournemouth a few weeks ago, Tottenham raced through the gears and clinched Europa League football on the final day of the Premier League season.
By finishing in sixth, Jose Mourinho’s side rather crucially know that even a win for arch-rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup final against Chelsea will not deny them a place in European competition next season.
And with that all confirmed, Mourinho and the recruitment staff at Spurs will surely be on the look-out for new signings. One man who has been heavily linked with a switch to north London is Southampton midfielder, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
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But according to ESPN, if the Lilywhites don’t manage to get him, then they could go for Lille starlet Boubakary Soumare – it’s claimed that the Frenchman has been on the club’s radar for a long while, although his £50m price tag may be a bit too high.
Whilst splashing out £50m on a 21-year-old seems like a major gamble, particularly with the financial issues facing most clubs across Europe, it may be the kind of business that Spurs look back on a few years as one smart investment.
The 6 foot 2 prodigy has earned widespread praise for his performances in Ligue 1, with Lille president Gerard Lopez exclaiming: “He’s one of the very best at his job. He’s technical, with incredible physical power and wins a great deal of possession. He’s a modern No.6 or 8. We’ll see him in the France team very soon.”
Unsurprisingly for someone as tall and technically gifted as he is, there have been comparisons to Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, with Sky Sports journalist Gary Cotterill claiming that a source had told him that he is like the Red Devils star, but “without the baggage”.
Spurs of course have already signed one talented French midfielder from Ligue 1 in Tanguy Ndombele last season, and that hasn’t panned out so well so far. But if fans have any reservations about Soumare, then look at what Lopez added: “He dominated Ndombele last season. And Ndombele is not just anyone, since he signed for Spurs. Bouba will also go to a big club.”
It was a game that finished 2-2 between Lille and Lyon, with Soumare finding the back of the net. If Spurs want to sign their own version of a superstar like Pogba, then the 21-year-old could very well be that man.
