Agent confirms Tottenham beat Aston Villa, West Ham to savvy free agent coup, but one club did pique player’s interest
The agent of a winger who’ll undergo a medical with Tottenham on Thursday revealed Aston Villa, West Ham and one other side showed interest, and it was the latter who had the player in two minds.
Football London reported Spurs are targeting five new arrivals in the window this summer. A new starting goalkeeper, two centre-backs, playmaker and winger were all on the agenda.
Guglielmo Vicario joined from Empoli to replace Hugo Lloris between the sticks. Elsewhere, James Maddison will add a new dimension from an attacking point of view following his £40m arrival from Leicester.
Regarding the winger hunt, the profile of player Tottenham were reportedly seeking was a lively young forward who’ll add competition and not necessarily be a regular starter.
To that end, an agreement on personal terms has been struck with Israel international, Manor Solomon.
Fabrizio Romano broke the news on Sunday, with the 23-year-old set to join from Shakhtar Donetsk as a free agent.
Solomon spent last season on loan with Fulham, bagging five goals across in 24 appearances across all competitions.
Per Romano, Solomon will undergo his medical with Spurs on Thursday morning, though according to the player’s agent, Tottenham were by no means alone in chasing his client.
Indeed, in quotes carried by Sky Sports, Solomon’s agent, Ben Ezra, revealed Aston Villa, West Ham and RB Leipzig made enquiries into the winger’s signing.
Leipzig were seeking a replacement for Christopher Nkunku who has joined Chelsea. The German side have since been further weakened in the final third after losing Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool.
The lure of playing Champions League football with Leipzig could’ve turned Solomon’s head. According to Ezra, it was the German side who Solomon considered joining other than Spurs.
But in the end, a return to the Premier League proved too tempting to ignore and new boss Ange Postecoglou was able to secure his man.
“In a club like Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham there are several players in each position and this competition will make him better,” said Ezra.
“In addition to Tottenham, Aston Villa, West Ham, and RB Leipzig wanted him as a replacement for Christopher Nkunku.
“In addition to Tottenham, Manor was also interested [in Leipzig]. But if you leave the Premier League, you can’t always return to it.”
