Unlike a lot of teams in the Premier League, Spurs were active during the January transfer window. Their near-£27m move for Genoa’s Radu Dragusin was the most expensive deal done by any side last month, and they also signed Timo Werner from RB Leipzig on loan.
If Ange Postecoglou had got his way, though, there would have been another new face arriving in North London too. Spurs were keen on a deal to sign attacking midfielder Sebastian Szymanski from Fenerbahce and were prepared to “push” to get a deal done before the deadline. Postecoglou dispatched scouts to watch the £30m-rated Pole in action, but in the end no deal materialised.
Spurs ready to revive Szymanski move
Based on a report from Turkish outlet Fanatik, though, this matter is far from closed. There’s a feeling that Szymanski won’t be staying at Fenerbahce for long, with interested clubs queuing up.
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Chelsea are believed to have looked at signing him as well.
Ange and Spurs have been “watching” for a “while” now and “may make a move in the summer”, while Italian giants Milan have identified him as a “primary” target for the off-season. Elsewhere, Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen want to build from a position of strength by striking a deal.
Spurs could sign a “gem” who’s ready to press
Fenerbahce only paid around £8.3m to sign Szymanski from Dynamo Moscow last summer, and that’s now looking like one of the bargains of the window. The 30-cap Poland international has scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 39 games across all competitions, which makes him one of the most productive players in European football this season.
Most goals and assists by players based in Europe’s top 10 leagues (all comps) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Club | Goals | Assists | Total |
1 | Viktor Gyokeres | Sporting | 29 | 11 | 40 |
=2 | Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 32 | 7 | 39 |
=2 | Luuk de Jong | PSV Eindhoven | 28 | 11 | 39 |
4 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 29 | 8 | 37 |
=5 | Igor Thiago | Club Brugge | 26 | 4 | 30 |
=5 | Ollie Watkins | Aston Villa | 18 | 12 | 30 |
=7 | Edin Dzeko | Fenerbahce | 22 | 7 | 29 |
=7 | Mauro Icardi | Galatasaray | 20 | 9 | 29 |
=7 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 19 | 10 | 29 |
=10 | Vangelis Pavlidis | AZ Alkmaar | 25 | 3 | 28 |
=10 | Lautaro Martinez | Inter | 23 | 5 | 28 |
=10 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 22 | 6 | 28 |
=13 | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 20 | 8 | 28 |
=13 | Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | 15 | 13 | 28 |
=13 | Rafa | Benfica | 15 | 13 | 28 |
=16 | Santiago Gimenez | Feyenoord | 22 | 5 | 27 |
=16 | Andreas Skov Olsen | Club Brugge | 19 | 8 | 27 |
=18 | Pedro Goncalves | Sporting | 13 | 13 | 26 |
=18 | Fenerbahce | 12 | 14 | 16 | |
=18 | Cameron Puertas | Union SG | 8 | 18 | 26 |
He’s inevitably won plenty of plaudits for his exploits this term, with under-23 scout Antonio Mango describing him as a “gem” and sports journalist Josh Bunting raving about his “wonderful” technique.
Crucially, in addition to his headline attacking output, he also works tirelessly out of possession. Indeed, according to StatsBomb, he’d averaged more pressures per 90 minutes (31.3) than anybody else in the Turkish top-flight in the first phase of the season, and that may be a big part of his appeal for Postecoglou.
