Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to destroy their transfer record by paying up to £75million to win the race to sign an in-demand Premier League attacker this summer.
Spurs are expected to be in the market for a new forward in the upcoming summer transfer window as they look to offload Brazilian flop Richarlison, while a proposed move to sign Mathys Tel permanently will only now happen at a lower asking price.
The French forward, on loan from Bayern Munich, has a pre-agreed deal worth roughly £50m to move to north London on a permanent basis. However, after scoring just twice in 10 games for the club so far, reporter Florian Plettenberg claims Tottenham will now approach the German giants in the hope of landing the player for a lower fee.
That interest in Tel is not, however, expected to stop Spurs looking at other attacking targets – one of which is outstanding Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha.
The 25-year-old Brazilian has established himself as one of the best forward players in the Premier League this season, notching 19 goal contributions as a number of clubs reportedly chase his signature.
Arsenal and Manchester United are known to be keeping tabs on Cunha, but Spanish outlet Fichajes reports that Tottenham have expressed an interest in signing the player and that they are willing to pay around £75million to get their man.
That figure would easily surpass the £65m they coughed up to sign Dominic Solanke last summer for a player who, ironically, is set to return to action for Wolves after a four-match ban against Spurs on Sunday.
The fact that Cunha can play multiple positions across the forward line, as well as dropping into the No.10 role, certainly makes him an attractive proposition for suitors.
Tottenham face transfer scrap for Brazilian ace
While Tottenham could certainly use a dynamic forward like Cunha, much will depend on whether the club can offer the Brazil international European football next season.
The only route to doing that would be by winning the Europa League, with the second leg of their quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt taking place this Thursday. The first encounter, which Spurs dominated, finished 1-1 to leave the tie in the balance.
Arsenal will have no such problems in that regard, with their need for a new attacker seen as paramount after their Premier League title challenge fell away after Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz suffered long-term injury issues.
Indeed, Mikel Arteta is expected to make the addition of a new striker his main focus this summer to try and right the wrong of failing to sign one in the winter window.
However, Cuhna has only featured as a traditional No.9 on four occasions this season, leading the Gunners more towards the likes of Leipzig frontman Benjamin Sesko instead.
As for United, they face the same issue as Tottenham when it comes to playing in Europe next season.
The Red Devils are also in the market for an out-and-out striker after deciding to sell Rasmus Hojlund, while Spurs already have the position filled with Solanke.
That would allow Cunha to play in multiple different positions in north London, as he has during his time at Molineux.
It just remains to be seen whether the Fichajes report actually holds any weight, given Daniel Levy’s reluctance to go beyond the £60-65m mark during his lengthy Tottenham tenure so far.
