TURIN, ITALY - MARCH 14: Yacine Brahimi of FC Porto in action during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg match between Juventus and FC Porto at Juventus Stadium on March 14, 2017 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Tottenham turn their attention to new attacking target
Tottenham are eyeing Yacine Brahimi
Many Spurs fans are quite concerned at Tottenham’s lack of transfer activity this summer. Fans can take heart that the club’s search for attacking talent is ongoing. The latest name to find itself on the Tottenham radar is Porto winger Yacine Brahimi.
Reports in Portugal are linking Spurs with serious interest in the Porto star. Tottenham aren’t the only Premier League club chasing the talented wide man though. Spurs are joined in the transfer race by West Ham and Everton as well.
Still, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad is the only club that can offer Brahimi Champions League football next season. That reality should give Spurs a significant edge in this transfer race. Of course, Daniel Levy will still need to loosen his purse strings to bring Brahimi to North London.
Brahimi might be a little older than the average Pochettino target (he’s 27) but his Champions League experience could prove invaluable to Spurs. He posted an impressive Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.36 in his five appearances in the competition last year. His presence could help Tottenham cope with the pressures of playing on the big stage at Wembley Stadium.
Tottenham, Everton and West Ham interested in Yacine Brahimi according to reports in Portugal https://t.co/sosZWvh3ai
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) July 5, 2017
He played much of his football for Porto on the left wing, but he still has the versatility necessary to thrive under Pochettino. Brahimi isn’t necessarily the rough and tumble player that can really thrive under Tottenham’s Argentine gaffer, but he does possess a great deal of attacking skill. He could be just the player to solve the club’s Wembley curse.
As is the case with most transfers, the real question is how much Brahimi would cost the club. Porto are certainly under zero pressure to sell. The player could, however, opt to put his own measure of pressure on his club to let him go without too much of a fight.
Even with that assistance, Levy will almost certainly need to break the club’s record transfer fee to bring Brahimi to North London. £30 million would likely be the starting point for any real negotiations between Spurs and Porto.
Nothing is imminent between Tottenham and Brahimi at the moment, but it’s a situation worth watching over the next couple weeks. I doubt he’s Pochettino’s top target, but he is certainly on the club’s radar.
