‘Big’ – Jack Grealish to Tottenham accelerated after club lose star duo
Tottenham have been forced into an uncomfortable position by Son Heung-min’s exit and James Maddison’s injury.
Speaking to Football Insider exclusively, finance expert Dan Plumley explained why Spurs have “got to” make a move to sign a replacement this summer.
Thomas Frank’s side are reeling from the loss of their creative fulcrum.
Maddison went down in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle without contact and will now require surgery, ruling the England international out for most of next season.
The former Leicester City man’s injury coincides with the departure of Son Heung-min to LAFC.
The duo were Tottenham’s two top assisters last season and although Mohammed Kudus has joined from West Ham, the North London club are lacking a natural number 10.
Tottenham must decide on loan or permanent deal for Grealish
This article contains exclusive comment from Dan Plumley, a football finance expert and senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.
Pre-empting their lack of creativity behind Dominic Solanke, Tottenham made an offer for Morgan Gibbs-White earlier in the summer, but the Nottingham Forest star has signed a new contract with his club after the Trick Trees claimed knowledge of the release clause that Spurs triggered had been obtained illegally.
With their Premier League season opener against Burnley drawing near, Frank’s side may turn to Man City outcast Jack Grealish to solve their issues.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley explained why he thought Tottenham needed to move for the 29-year-old, although the finance expert pointed out that the winger’s wages could be a sticking point.
He said: “With Grealish, it’s going to come down to whether the deal is permanent or a loan, and the wages are going to be a big part of that.
“That’s the type of player that they’re going to have to look at now, and they might have planned for maybe selling Son, but after a really unfortunate injury in preseason for one of your fairly prominent players in that squad, I think they’ve got to now go and replace him.
“Grealish might be an example of one that we could look at.”
Tottenham plot Harry Kane return
With one legend departing, it would make sense for another to return and aim to emulate his South Korean ex-teammate’s silverware successes.
Pete O’Rourke told Football Insider exclusively that Tottenham have plotted a deal that would see Harry Kane return to his boyhood club.
The England captain has spent the past two years dominating the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and with a release clause of £56million active in 2026, the Premier League’s second-highest scorer may return to North London.