Tottenham have significant ground to make up
If Tottenham want to defeat Arsenal for the services of Thomas Lemar, then Spurs have serious work to do. Mauricio Pochettino will need to step up his efforts immediately to give his club the necessary boost to win this transfer race.
Reports from France claim that Lemar’s nationality has him leaning in Arsenal’s direction. That’s unfortunate, but understandable. The Gunners have a French manager in Arsene Wenger who’s made quite the habit of bringing his countrymen to the Premier League and turning them into stars.
Fortunately from the Spurs perspective, it doesn’t seem that any sort of deal is imminent. The Gunners spent time this week lodging a formal bid for Kylian Mbappe, but made no such overture for Lemar. It’s still up in the air just how interested Arsenal are.
For that matter, Tottenham haven’t taken the time to make a formal bid either. That fact is frustrating even the most patient Spurs fans. Daniel Levy has quite the habit of waiting until the last-minute to complete his transfer business. If he tries that ploy with Lemar, he’s likely to be competing against him for the next several seasons.
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Along with Douglas Costa, Lemar is the most accomplished wide man on Tottenham’s radar at the moment. Ryan Sessegnon might have more long-term ability than the Frenchman, but at 17 years of age he has several years to go before he achieves his full potential. Lemar, in sharp contrast, is at the point in his career where he can make an instant impact in the Premier League.
That’s not to say that Lemar’s career is done growing either. He’s still just 21-years-old. Despite his youth he put forward an awesome campaign for Monaco this year. Nine assists and ten goals in just 34 Ligue 1 appearances is not a total to sneeze at. He could well prove to be the missing piece to Pochettino’s attack.
Lemar is a wide man who can really stretch the opposition both vertically and laterally. He would give Spurs a much different dimension with his ability to cross the ball in from the wing. Incorporating him into the starting XI would take a lot of pressure off Spurs’ fullbacks to get forward and create real width in attack.
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What Spurs need to do immediately is show Lemar just how serious they are about acquiring his services. The combination of their intense show of interest and Champions League football should be enough to overcome his nationalistic leanings towards Arsenal. If not, at least Tottenham will know it’s time to move on to other, more attainable targets.