Tottenham's Summer Transfer Plans: Gakpo, Savinho, and Balogun
Tottenham’s quiet summer is about to crackle into life.
With the new season just a week away, Spurs are moving towards a decisive reshaping of Roberto De Zerbi’s attack, zeroing in on Cody Gakpo and Savinho while keeping a £51m swing at Folarin Balogun in their back pocket.
De Zerbi’s attacking blueprint is starting to show.
Savinho: Kudus cover now, Bale-style threat later
Savinho looks the closest to the door marked “N17”. Long linked, strongly interested, and badly needed.
Tottenham’s wide options have thinned out. Randal Kolo Muani has gone after a miserable loan. Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are both set for extended spells out. The wings, once crowded, suddenly look bare.
That opens the lane for Savinho. Short term, the 22-year-old left-footer is primed to step into Mohammed Kudus’ role on the right. Kudus hasn’t played a minute in pre-season, even if his recent return to training offers a sliver of encouragement.
Savinho can attack from that flank, cut in, and inject some urgency into an attack that drifted too often last year. But De Zerbi’s interest runs deeper than a stopgap solution.
Longer term, the Manchester City man may be used off the left, where his game has drawn comparisons from analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson to Gareth Bale’s driving, lashing finishes from that side. That’s the vision: a wide forward who doesn’t just decorate games, but decides them.
Where that leaves Cody Gakpo is the intriguing part.
Gakpo’s role: false nine or left-wing logjam?
Gakpo has lived mostly on the left for Liverpool. That’s his natural habitat, the position that took him from PSV Eindhoven to Anfield. But Tottenham’s left side could soon be crowded if Savinho drifts there in the long run.
So the conversation shifts to the middle.
There is a growing belief that De Zerbi could re-purpose Gakpo as a false nine. It fits his profile. The 27-year-old is not a classic touchline winger, not the type to burn full-backs with raw pace or dizzying dribbles. His game leans on timing, movement, and finishing.
The numbers back up the idea. According to Transfermarkt, Gakpo has scored 18 goals in 66 games when used as a striker or false nine at Liverpool. Not explosive, but respectable. Enough to suggest he can function there, even if he doesn’t yet scream “elite number nine”.
Which is why the conversation doesn’t end with Gakpo.
It leads straight to Folarin Balogun.
Spurs circle as Balogun emerges as £51m headline act
Inside Tottenham, there’s a feeling that at least one of the current centre-forwards will be moved on before the window shuts. The futures of Richarlison and Dominic Solanke hang in the balance.
Richarlison’s situation looks especially fragile. One year left on his deal. A manager openly admitting the 29-year-old is weighing up whether to stay or go. Earlier this summer, Football FanCast reported he is expected to be sold. Nothing since has really softened that line.
Solanke is on firmer ground but not untouchable. Nottingham Forest have shown interest, and while he has worked hard, 12 league goals in two seasons is hardly the return of an undisputed starter.
That uncertainty has opened the door to Balogun.
TEAMtalk report that ENIC would be prepared to move one of Richarlison or Solanke on before stepping up their chase for the Monaco forward, with Spurs emerging as frontrunners for his signature. The fee is expected to land around £51m. The player, crucially, is keen on a Premier League return and is willing to join Tottenham.
Talks are still at an early stage. This is not a done deal. But if Spurs get it over the line, it has the makings of the statement move of their summer.
Bigger, perhaps, than Gakpo. Bigger than Savinho.
Balogun: the form, the numbers, the sting in the tale
The contrast is stark.
Gakpo has divided opinion at Liverpool and has yet to hit double figures in a single Premier League season. Savinho finished the 2025/26 league campaign with just one goal and one assist, still searching for rhythm and end product.
Balogun, by comparison, has been busy building a body of work.
For Monaco last season, the United States international struck 13 goals and laid on four assists in Ligue 1. In the Champions League, he scored five times in ten appearances. On the World Cup stage, he found the net three times in four outings, causing constant problems at the tip of Mauricio Pochettino’s attack, even if his tournament ended in controversy.
This isn’t a one-off spike either. The Hale End graduate previously smashed in 21 Ligue 1 goals on loan at Reims in 2022/23. There have been injuries since, and his path hasn’t been smooth, but the talent is not in question. Nor is the momentum.
At £51m, he carries a serious price tag, but also a serious upside. And there’s an extra edge that will not be lost on anyone in north London: Arsenal let him go.
If Balogun explodes in Lilywhite, Tottenham won’t just have found their next leading man. They’ll have turned one of Arsenal’s own into a symbol of their resurgence, just as Harry Kane once became the embodiment of Spurs’ rise from within.
For Richarlison and Solanke, that possibility looms large. Because if Gakpo and Savinho arrive to reshape the frontline and Balogun follows as the new spearhead, there may be no room left to fight for.
They really should be watching their backs.
