DONE DEAL: Tottenham announce loan signing of Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal

God, I love a good GAZUMPING. Villarreal forward Arnaut Danjuma looked all set to go head to Everton on loan to help keep them from relegation. He even had a medical completed and had everything done except the paperwork!

But then Frank Lampard got sacked, Danjuma’s agent got antsy, and Spurs swooped in to hijack the deal. Danjuma flew into London on Tuesday to complete his second medical in three days. Now it’s done — Tottenham announced on their social media channels that Danjuma will join Spurs on loan to the end of the current season. The deal apparently has a purchase option of £27m this summer.

So I don’t really know how good a player Arnaut Danjuma is, though there’s a future piece coming up that could shed some light on his production. He’s got some deeply weird stats and an equally strange career progression. That said, he has six goals for Villarreal in all competitions in around 900 minutes, and has a .57 xg+xa/90, which is objectively good. He also had a very good season in 2021-22 with 16 goals and five assists in about 1600 minutes of play, and has England experience with Bournemouth. He’s a good dribbler and a good passer, and by all accounts is being signed for depth on the offensive end. And you know what, Spurs could use some experienced depth there!

It does make me wonder what Danjuma’s loan means for the potential deal for Roma’s Nico Zaniolo. They’re not the same player, but they would both be considered depth in the attacking band. Both/either are likely upgrades on Bryan Gil, who might end up heading out on loan himself after all. And renting Danjuma for a few months gives additional time for everything to settle with Antonio Conte’s future so Spurs could potentially find an option in the summer that’s a better fit.

But honestly, this is just a good story and I love a good story. It reminds me a bit of the day that Tottenham signed Moussa Sissoko while he had a plane waiting for him to take him to Everton. This is now the second time we’ve gazumped Everton for a player. Danjuma may or may not be that great, but we’ve made Everton look like chumps for him and honestly there’s no price on that kind of banter.

Welcome to Tottenham, Arnaut Danjuma!