European giants 'working 'hard' to pull off cut-price Tottenham transfer agreement in January

A European heavyweight is said to be pushing to sign a Tottenham player on a cut-price deal in January. Spurs had a busy summer transfer window that saw Thomas Frank handed some important new weapons, including Joao Palhinha who joined on a loan deal with an option to buy from Bayern Munich.

Palhinha has become an instant part of a now well-stacked midfield that also includes Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur as the main options, while Archie Gray is also in the mix as he continues to develop.

That midfield could leave little room for Yves Bissouma, who struggled last season and had a bad start to life under Thomas Frank. Bissouma was dropped from the UEFA Super Cup squad over tardiness, and injury has kept him out over recent weeks.

Frank has made it clear that the midfielder will get an opportunity, though, saying this week “There are no hard feelings at all. Not before, not now, not at all. Train well and everyone has an opportunity."

Asked about Bissouma’s injury, he said: “I think, to be fair, he has just started to run outside, so he is not part of the group. But everything I have seen when I’ve said hello to him and every day with the players, he seems good." On when the midfielder could return, he added: “That I actually don’t know. The players available now are the players I have available. Of course, I know [about his recovery] but that is further down the line."

With Bissouma out of contract next summer, Tottenham now face the choice of having to sell him for a reduced fee in the winter window or losing him for free next summer, with a new contract not likely to be on the table for the 29-year-old.

In the meantime, there is talk of interest on the continent following rumours of a move to Türkiye that never played out. Calciomercato.it are claiming that AC Milan are interested in a deal, and the club’s directors are said to believe they can get hold of the midfielder for a discounted price compared to the previous asking price of €20-25million.

It’s claimed those club chiefs are already ‘hard at work’ on striking a deal, and if all else fails, the Italian club are able to strike an agreement over a free transfer in advance of the summer from January 1.

Bissouma will be hard at work looking to return, but how much game time he will see remains to be seen, albeit Spurs have a lot of football to play across the Champions League, Premier League and other competitions. On the face of it, the former Brighton midfielder might face an uphill task, but he could only be an injury or two away from returning to Frank’s plans.

It seems Milan will be watching on keenly as they look to snap up a new holding midfielder during the winter window.

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