Tottenham's Late Surge for Gakpo, Savinho, and Balogun
Tottenham’s attack has felt stuck in neutral for most of the summer. That lull is unlikely to last much longer.
With the new season a week away, Spurs are readying a late surge in the market, and Roberto De Zerbi’s focus is clear: more goals, more threat, more edge. Cody Gakpo and Savinho sit at the heart of that plan, while Folarin Balogun looms in the background as a potential headline act.
De Zerbi’s blueprint for Gakpo and Savinho
Savinho looks the closest to walking through the door. Long linked with a move to north London, the Manchester City winger is understood to be keen on joining De Zerbi’s project at N17. For a squad suddenly light in wide areas, his timing could be ideal.
Randal Kolo Muani has gone after a bleak loan spell. Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are still out for a prolonged period. The winger pool has thinned quickly.
In the short term, Savinho shapes as a like-for-like stand-in for Mohammed Kudus on the right. Left-footed, direct, and happy to attack from that flank, he could step into the Ghanaian’s role while Kudus continues to work back to full involvement after missing pre-season, even if he has now returned to training.
Longer term, the picture shifts. Savinho has drawn praise from analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson for those Gareth Bale-style, driving finishes from the left, cutting in and striking through the ball with real force. De Zerbi could easily flip him to that side once the squad is healthier and the system bedded in.
That’s where Gakpo comes into the conversation.
The Dutchman has spent most of his Liverpool career starting off the left, but there is a growing sense he may not be bought for that role. De Zerbi is understood to see him as a possible false nine, a central focal point rather than a traditional touchline winger.
It fits his profile. Gakpo is not a burner who skins full-backs with raw pace or dazzling dribbles. His game is built around movement, timing and finishing. Put him closer to goal, and the logic is simple: more chances to do what he does best.
The numbers offer cautious encouragement. According to Transfermarkt, Gakpo has scored 18 goals in 66 games as a striker or false nine for Liverpool. Not explosive, but respectable. Enough to suggest he can function through the middle, not enough to silence doubts over whether Spurs still need a true No 9.
And that’s where Balogun changes the conversation.
Balogun chase puts pressure on Richarlison and Solanke
Inside the club, there is a growing feeling that one of Richarlison or Dominic Solanke could move on before the window closes.
Richarlison is the more vulnerable. He has just a year left on his contract, and De Zerbi has already admitted the 29-year-old is weighing up his future. Earlier this summer, Football FanCast reported that Spurs are preparing to sell him. The direction of travel is obvious.
Solanke’s situation is slightly different. An exit is thought to be less likely, but Nottingham Forest have shown interest, and his output has not exactly forced Spurs to slam the door shut. Twelve league goals across two seasons is a modest return for a starting centre-forward.
That uncertainty has opened the door for Balogun. As per TEAMtalk, Spurs’ ownership group ENIC would be prepared to move one of their current strikers on before going hard for the Monaco forward, with the club now viewed as ‘frontrunners’ for his signature.
The price is steep. A deal is expected to land around the £51m mark. But the player is ready to come. The former Arsenal striker is said to be keen on a Premier League return and, crucially, open to joining Spurs.
Talks are still at an early stage. Nothing is advanced yet. Even so, the potential payoff is obvious.
Balogun is in a stronger moment than either Gakpo or Savinho. While Gakpo has divided opinion at Anfield and has yet to hit double figures in a Premier League season since arriving from PSV Eindhoven, and Savinho finished the 2025/26 top-flight campaign with just one goal and one assist, the American arrives with sharper numbers and a sharper edge.
Last season in Ligue 1, Balogun scored 13 goals and added four assists for Monaco. For comparison, Gakpo managed seven goals and five assists in the Premier League over the same period. Balogun also struck three times in four World Cup outings, leading the line for Mauricio Pochettino’s side and looking a real menace at the tip of the attack.
His European form backed that up: five goals in ten Champions League appearances, a reminder of the player who erupted with 21 Ligue 1 goals on loan at Reims in 2022/23. Injuries have checked his rise since, but the talent has never been in question.
At £51m, Spurs would be paying for upside, for a forward who still feels like he’s climbing rather than plateauing. They would also be paying for something else: the chance to make Arsenal wince.
A statement that would sting Arsenal
Balogun is a Hale End graduate. Arsenal chose to cash in on him. If he rocks up at Tottenham, leads De Zerbi’s front line and starts scoring freely in Lilywhite, that decision will be revisited every week.
Spurs have been here before. Harry Kane’s journey from academy hopeful to world-class striker became a running reminder of what can happen when a club backs its own and builds around them. Balogun is not Kane, and no one at Spurs will pretend otherwise, but the symbolism would be impossible to ignore.
Sign Gakpo and Savinho, and you reshape the attack. Land Balogun on top of that, and you send a message.
A Liverpool forward who splits opinion. A Manchester City winger still searching for his groove. And a former Arsenal striker with momentum, goals, and a point to prove.
If Spurs pull it off, Richarlison and Solanke won’t just be looking over their shoulders. They might be looking for the exit.
