Tottenham transfer blow as Euro striker heading to Germany instead

We can probably strike one Tottenham Hotspur transfer target off the list. Several German sports outlets are reporting that Basel striker Breel Embolo is set to reject a possible move to the Premier League and instead wants to move to Germany and join RB Leipzig.

Bild had previously reported that Leipzig was Embolo's preferred destination, and today German website Kicker says that the deal is on the verge of being completed, for a transfer fee of around €20m. This is rather low for a striker with Embolo's ceiling, so it probably means that the 19-year old striker, who's been at Basel his entire career, never really thought of a move to England as an option. It also probably means that Leipzig is paying him some good money to lure him to a recently promoted side.

This is going to be disappointing news for a segment of Spurs' fan-base, including a lot of Carty-Free readers who have been pining after Embolo since Spurs were first linked to him last summer. The links to Embolo were tenuous at best, and even in recent months it didn't seem as though Spurs were especially interested in him. It wouldn't surprise me if he were on Mauricio Pochettino and Paul Mitchell's heralded "list," but it doesn't appear at this point that he was ever a serious target.

Embolo is coming off of a good season for Basel where he scored 13 goals and put in 9 assists in all competitions. He sufficiently recovered from a season-ending knee injury in time to make Switzerland's Euro squad. The move is probably a good one for Embolo, who gets a step up in competition and will still very likely be a first-choice striker in a top European league.