Tottenham hold talks with £50m player who Arteta wants at Arsenal.
Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks with a target’s representatives in the last few days, according to David Ornstein, but Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta also personally wants him at the Emirates Stadium.
Tottenham draw 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt in Europa League first leg
Despite forcing save after save from goalkeeper Kaua Santos, dominating the play overall and creating many openings, the under-pressure Ange Postecoglou had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Spurs’ Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night.
On-fire Eintracht star Hugo Ekitiké, who’s attracting rumoured Premier League interest amid a sublime campaign, opened the scoring early on for Dino Toppmoller’s side with an excellent long-range finish past Guglielmo Vicario.
It was their first attack of the game, and Postecoglou cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as Tottenham were sliced open. However, it didn’t take long for the home team to notch their deserved equaliser, with Pedro Porro scoring an ingenious back-heeled effort just 20 minutes later.
Santos managed to keep the score level despite Tottenham’s relentless pushing at times, with Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur also hitting the crossbar, so the unfortunate north Londoners are now set to make the trip to Germany with the aggregate score on a knife edge.
“A little bit frustrated by the result obviously but I thought the performance in general was really good from the boys,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Eintracht.
“We conceded early which was not ideal and it was a fair strike by the lad but I thought our response to that was really good. We stayed in control. We scored a good equaliser. We made them work hard in the first half so we knew in the second half, with our ability to break teams open, we would put them under pressure. It is exactly what happened and the boys did everything right.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more from them.”
Tottenham hold talks with Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen’s representatives
In the build up to Postecoglou’s crucial Europa League first leg tie, Ornstein has now reported that Tottenham had been working on the potential arrival of Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen behind-the-scenes.
The Spain international centre-back has enjoyed an excellent season under Andoni Iraola on the south coast, partnering either Illia Zabarnyi or Marcos Senesi to excellent effect, and his performances are attracting attention from elite rivals.
As per Ornstein, in a Q&A for The Athletic, Tottenham have held talks with Huijsen’s representatives this week, but they’re not alone, as Arteta and Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta are also “huge fans” of the 19-year-old.
The Gunners have reached out to his camp as well, amid news that his contract will include an active £50 million release clause this summer.
Huijsen could be the ideal summer signing for Spurs, given Cristian Romero’s links with a move away and their serious struggles at centre-back this season due to consistent injuries.
Tottenham will need more reinforcement in that area of the squad ahead of 2025/2026, with or without Postecoglou at the helm, and Huijsen is a young defender of serious quality.
“Sensational CB prospect, so happy to see him starting week-in-week-out,” wrote Football Analyst Ben Mattinson on X.
“Huijsen should be the most in-demand CB in the world in no time. Bournemouth’s recruitment team are absolute geniuses for securing him early for so little. Huge profit pending.”
