Tottenham have been urged to hijack a Chelsea transfer deal after missing out on Eberechi Eze to Arsenal.
Spurs were closing in on a significant deal for England star Eze before their north London rivals Arsenal swooped in and agreed a deal with Crystal Palace.
New Tottenham boss Thomas Frank targeted Eze after losing both James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski to injury.
Eze had agreed personal terms with Spurs but then approved a move to Arsenal after the Gunners agreed a £68m deal with Palace.
He became Mikel Arteta’s seventh summer signing and will bolster an Arsenal squad that have aspirations of winning the Premier League this season.
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It is a major blow to Tottenham, who have enjoyed a superb start to the new season under Frank, and will likely see the north London club pursue another attacking player before the transfer window shuts.
Spurs have expressed interest in signing Savinho from Manchester City and the Brazil international is believed to be keen on the move.
But Sir Alex Ferguson’s former Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen believes Tottenham should also consider hijacking Chelsea’s deal for Xavi Simons.
Chelsea have been working on a deal for the Netherlands international for weeks but are yet to agree terms with RB Leipzig, who are holding out for an offer of £60m.
Discussing Simons’ options in the Premier League, Meulensteen told CoinPoker: ‘It’s interesting to see, but he has to be in one of those top teams to succeed in the Premier League.
‘He’s mobile, he’s really a player that drifts between the lines, behind the pockets, he can be the man.
‘But where he ends up, if he ends up in the Premier League, is yet to be seen.
‘Tottenham? That could be a really good option. With James Maddison out, that could be a really good option.
‘Manchester United? He is somebody that plays in the position that Matheus Cunha or Mason Mount will be playing in. Bryan Mbeumo is probably going to play in that position. Bruno Fernandes plays in that position.
‘At Liverpool, no, because they brought Florian Wirtz in. Arsenal have got their player in that position with Martin Odegaard.’
Tottenham appear to be going in the right direction under Frank, beating Burnley on the opening day before stunning Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
But they have missed out on one of the most exciting players in the Premier League in Eze in a situation Jamie Redknapp described as a ‘nightmare’ for Spurs owner Daniel Levy.
‘It’s a nightmare situation for them,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘It’s unfortunately typical of what happens at Tottenham with Daniel Levy.
‘It was an opportunity to get someone across the line, they had two weeks – probably haggling, trying to mess around with the deal instead of just paying the money, saying ‘this is the exit clause, this is what you’ve got to pay, this is what Eberechi Eze wants’. Get it done.
Thomas Frank reacts to Eberechi Eze transfer blow
‘In general I don’t want any players that don’t want to come to this club and wear this fantastic badge. We don’t want them here and I’m sure the fans feel the same.
‘We are in the market and we will look to strengthen the team. We have a good squad and good players [but] we need to do everything we can to be as competitive as possible.
‘I am confident we will sign a player before the end of the window. Every club wants to sign players as early as possible, but it’s not that easy.’
‘This is one of those players that is going to make such a difference. You’ve not got James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski looks like he’s out for a while. They’ve slept and Arsenal have come in.
‘It’s a great move for Arsenal. I’m so disappointed because I thought he’d have been a magnificent No. 10 for Tottenham. He’d have been perfect for them.
‘But it’s happened before, it happened with Morgan Gibbs-White earlier in the season and we’ve seen it again. Over-negotiating. Just get the deal done.’
Eze was unveiled at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday before Arsenal’s emphatic 5-0 win over newly-promoted Leeds United.
Discussing the signing, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: ‘He is a powerful and exciting player who will give us a new dimension in our attacking game.
‘What stands out just as much as his talent and intelligence as a player, is the way he has worked hard throughout his career to get where he is today.
‘His journey, his mentality and his ambition are exactly what we want in our team, and we love how much it means to him and his family to be joining our club.’
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