Tottenham should beat Arsenal to Julian Draxler

Tottenham should move quickly to keep Arsenal from signing Wolfsburg star Julian Draxler

Tottenham still need to add another attacking midfielder this summer and after watching Julian Draxler star for Germany in Euro 2016, it’s clear he’d make a great addition to Spurs. Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy should move quickly to beat Arsenal to the Bundesliga star’s services.

Reports claim that Arsenal is preparing a bid in excess of 40 million pounds to bring Draxler to North London. Spurs would be well-served to hijack the Gunners’ move and bring the talented German international to White Hart Lane instead.

While much of the transfer attention from Tottenham fans has been rightly focused on the club’s search for a second striker, that isn’t the club’s only need. It’s imperative that Pochettino add another top-level attacking midfielder to prepare for the challenging season ahead.

At the moment, Spurs only have three attacking midfielders that I have complete confidence in. Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen should be among the first name on the Tottenham team sheet every week, and I tend to believe Erik Lamela shouldn’t be that far behind. What troubles me is the complete lack of options behind the starting trio.

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Sure, some Spurs fans believe that Son Heung-Min will burst onto the scene next season and I sincerely hope they’re right. I just don’t see the Korean attacker ever coming to grips with the intense physicality of the Premier League. He may only be useful against weaker opponents during his Tottenham career.

There’s also a fairly vocal minority of Spurs fans that believe Nacer Chadli can be some sort of super substitute. I find that even more unlikely that Son becoming a star. His lack of work-rate and sub-par athleticism make him succeeding under Pochettino a very unlikely proposition. In all honesty, I’d be surprised if he’s a member of the squad when next season concludes. He could even be sold before the campaign begins.

After that, Spurs have some intriguing youth options headlined by Josh Onomah, but no one that’s ready for the prime time. It’s clear to see that Tottenham would be in serious trouble if one of their top three attacking midfielders became injured for any length of time.

That’s precisely why adding a player like Draxler should be seen as a need this summer. The club will need a minimum of four capable starters for the three positions. That would provide Pochettino with the valuable ability to rotate players all season long. That sort of squad rotation is a necessity if Tottenham are going to compete in every competition next season.

Another plus for adding Draxler in particular is that it would really stick it to Arsenal. He’s been a long-term target of Arsene Wenger’s and what Spurs fan wouldn’t get a little joy out of sticking it to the Arsenal boss?

Of course the best reason to bring Draxler to White Hart Lane is that he would add to a growing number of the club’s youthful stars. He would fit right into the culture that Pochettino has built at White Hart Lane. He’d be given the instruction and opportunity to grow alongside other young talents like Alli, Eriksen and striker Harry Kane.

Tottenham haven’t been linked with Julian Draxler as of yet, but every Spurs fan should hope that happens sooner rather than later. Ideally, it’d lead to the German star playing for Spurs, but at the very least, it’d drive up the price required for Arsenal to secure his services.