Spurs ready to raid Championship club for this £25m-rated Dutch international

We’ve dug into the meat of Tottenham’s transfer season already today, so how about a tipple of rampant speculation? While the Vincent Janssen transfer is up in the air, Spurs don’t appear to be done and according to numerous sources are considering a bid for Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum.

Matt Law at the Telegraph was the first to break the story, suggesting that Spurs are looking to now-relegated Toon for another attacking midfielder. The Dutchman was one of the few bright spots in what was otherwise a disastrous season for Newcastle, Rafa Benitez notwithstanding. He was Newcastle’s leading scorer with 11 goals, and also tallied five assists, all in Premier League action.

It would seem at a surface glance that signing Wijnaldum, while a good player, would mean the exodus of at least one current Tottenham player. Spurs are stacked at attacking midfield, with Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-Min, Dele Alli, Josh Onomah, Alex Pritchard, Nacer Chadli, and Clinton N’Jie who can all play in the forward attacking band. I suppose if you cock your head and squint you COULD make a case for Wijnaldum as a box-to-box central midfielder – he’s played there a few times with Newcastle – but that seems somewhat of a spurious place to put him unless Pochettino thinks he can mold him into a different kind of player than he’s show up until now.

Law goes on to write that Spurs “are prepared to sell Ryan Mason... and would listen to offers for Nacer Chadli and Son Heung-Min.”

Wijnaldum cost Newcastle £14.5m just last season, but the number being thrown around now is much higher – the Daily Mail says £25m. A pretty hefty price tag but not completely crazy considering the inflated prices and the fact that Wijnaldum is probably Newcastle’s only really good player.

It’s a neat idea, certainly, but we should all slow our roll. If Spurs’ approach is anything like the one they’ve taken with strikers, they have a list that Wijnaldum happens to be on. That doesn’t mean that it’ll happen, or even that he’s Tottenham’s top choice. Though Lyall Thomas does seem to suggest that he’s admired at White Hart Lane.

Transfer season, y’all!