Report: Tottenham give up on Martial as Zaha posts cryptic Instagram

Tottenham Hotspur haven’t signed anyone in this summer’s transfer window yet, but all indications are that the club is still looking. However, those potential additions to the Spurs squad are not likely to include Anthony Martial, if Spurs beat writer Ben Pearce is correct.

Writing for ESPN, Pearce says that Spurs “are unlikely to pursue a deal” for Martial, who has asked to leave United but has not formally submitted a transfer request. The Frenchman recently left United’s preseason tour of the United States to be present for the birth of his first child, a move that has apparently rankled manager Jose Mourinho. Martial is on the margins of the United squad, a situation made worse when Mourinho signed Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal last January.

Martial is said to want to leave Manchester and is in favor of joining Spurs, but United don’t want to sell to a league rival. The negotiations between Spurs and United have been percolating all summer and have also included defender Toby Alderweireld, whom United at one point were interested in signing.

But maybe all is not lost? Here’s what Pearce says about why Spurs are waiting so long in this transfer window:

Sources told ESPN FC that the delay is partly due to Spurs’ desire to wait for their top-six rivals to make their moves, to avoid bidding wars against wealthier clubs.

— Ben Pearce, ESPN

I suppose if you want to take a positive slant on this, it could suggest that if nobody else swoops in for Martial, Spurs might be able to make one final move at the end of the window.

Tangentially related, longtime Spurs transfer target Wilfried Zaha made some waves this morning after he posted (and subsequently deleted) a cryptic post on Instagram where he apparently removed reference to Crystal Palace from his bio and referenced “change.”

Mauricio Pochettino has long been a fan of the 26-year old Zaha and Spurs have unsuccessfully tried to purchase him in past windows. Palace have apparently slapped a £60m price tag on his head, but Zaha has been agitating for a move to a higher profile club despite signing a new 5-year, £110k/week contract just last spring.

What does this mean? No idea! It sure sounds as though Zaha might be in the process of moving somewhere, though “somewhere” might not mean to the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mauricio Pochettino told fans to expect signings in an interview in Los Angeles a couple of days ago. It’s enough to keep me glued to Twitter for a while today.