Spurs are confident of a club record signing

After Tottenham Hotspur was relegated last month, Roberto De Zerbi told the media that he will not be on vacation, there is no time.

It was a big message to send but a good one. This big club should not be close to the foot of the table.

A return to 17th place in the Premier League was taken by the Europa League crown but there is light at the end of the tunnel now for Spurs. De Zerbi and the recruitment team went through the transfer window.

The Lilywhites have already made big moves to strengthen their backline with Jan Paul van Hecke recently signing a £52m deal. He joined Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi who both arrived on free transfers.

That said, big moves are on the horizon for Van Hecke.

Spurs are confident of a club record signing

Finally, finally, Spurs are starting to act like a big club. They have started to put their name in the hat to sign the best players in the Premier League.

In recent days there have been surprising reports of interest in Matues Fernandes from West Ham. Spurs have made inquiries about the player and even if he agrees to go to Manchester United, the fact that they have even started negotiations to sign the player for a fee of around £80m is quite something.

Although this move seems unlikely at the moment, a move for Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali is starting to gain momentum.

It was revealed on Saturday night that Spurs have already seen an opening bid of £75m rejected for the Italian but that hasn’t stopped them.

Personal terms are reportedly already in place and the midfielder is open to a shock move to Tottenham.

So, what is the status of the deal now after that initial bid? However, according to Football.London’s Alasdair Gold, after holding talks, there is now “growing confidence” that a deal could be reached to bring Tonali to Spurs this summer, labeled as a true “statement signing” once done.

If they are to sign the player then Newcastle continue to target an asking price of £100m.

Why Tonali could be Tottenham’s new Modric

Watching the Tottenham pitch last season was a struggle, it really was.

In January, they signed Conor Gallagher with the intention of making a positive impact in midfield but he failed to do so, at least not until De Zerbi joined.

The platform was slow, sluggish, lacking power, any kind of drive. In the likes of Gallagher, Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr, they have a crop of one-of-a-kind midfielders who can continue to play at their best.

So, it’s understandable to see that Spurs have identified two big-money midfield additions this summer. In the past, they had the best midfielders of this generation. Think of Dele, think of Christian Eriksen and think of Luka Modric.

The former Ballon d’Or winner made a name for himself in English football before moving to Real Madrid and is known for his ability to move around the midfield and play some amazing football.

The main task of both Modric and Tonali is to rarely attack. They’re a classic number 6, almost a quarterback thing. Call it the Andrea Pirlo role if you will.

Their job is to stay in front of the defensive players and although they are not aggressive duel winners, they will dictate the tempo of the games and spray passes around.

One of Modric’s greatest strengths is his passing ability. Even now at the age of 40, he completed 90% of his passes for AC Milan in Serie A last season. His career passer rating is up 89.4%. On the other hand, Tonali finished the last two seasons with an 85% success rate. In particular, both players are very good at passing long. Run behind and they will always get you more.

They don’t tend to be heavily involved in the attacking phases of play. While the Croatian midfielder registered a goal every 11.5 games and an assist every seven games, Tonali found the net in every 15 appearances and registered an assist in every nine appearances.

Another thing that makes them similar is that they don’t play football and don’t deny balls. Last season they were very close to the football games. Tonali managed 1.10 per 90 minutes and Modric managed 1.05.

That, they also look the same. They glide around the field seamlessly and effortlessly. It is truly a joy to watch in full.

Just 25, the Newcastle star is clearly not on Modric’s level yet but the player has been described as “one of the best midfielders in the world” by his agent Beppe Riso.

In recent years, Spurs have really lacked a tempo setter like Modric, a player who can show resistance to high pressure and the ability to dictate play. In Tonali, they would get just that.