Spurs’ Deadline Day midfielder mission has West Ham worried
Published:
Tottenham efforts to fortify their central midfield with one of the Premier League’s tougher cookies have switched from Southampton’s Victor Wanyama to West Ham’s Cheikhou Kouyate on Deadline Day.
According to the Daily Mail, the Lilywhites have sprung a bid of £15m on the unsuspecting Hammers for their all-action Senegalese midfielder.
The same paper also claim that Spurs’ east London rivals have subsequently snubbed the offer, but such a showing of intent from the White Hart Lane outfit will ensure a few sweaty palms at the Boleyn Ground on the last day of the transfer window.
Costing West Ham in the region of £5m from Belgian club Anderlecht just over a year ago, Kouyate has proven to be a shrewd acquisition by former boss Sam Allardyce.
The rangy midfielder took very little time to adapt to the Premier League, regularly catching the eye for his bite in the tackle, aerial ability, pace, and ability to turn defence into attack with driving runs from deep positions.
After a stuttering start to Tottenham’s top-flight campaign, these are attributes that Mauricio Pochettino clearly admires greatly as the Argentine manager looks for solutions to his team’s current deficiencies.
Three draws and a defeat have left Tottenham’s top-four ambitions hanging by a thread even at this very early stage of the season, priced as they are at 14/1 by Ladbrokes to end in the season in the Champions League spots.
An underwhelming summer of recruitment at the Lane has amplified the sense of desperation on Deadline Day and could lead the Lilywhites into increasing their bid for Kouyate before business is officially closed.
Having just brought in a player with a similar profile to Kouyate in the form of Alex Song, confirmed on a second successive season-long loan from Barcelona to West Ham, another large bid from Spurs could potentially give Davids Gold and Sullivan food for thought.
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