Tottenham launch second blockbuster raid on West Ham in astonishing cut-price deal – report

Rob McCarthy 30 Jul 2025 11:12 AM

Thomas Frank reportedly wants another West Ham star at Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur are being tipped to launch another huge transfer raid on bitter rivals West Ham United as news of a cut-price transfer now being on offer, while Thomas Frank may have found his new N0.10 in a move that is much closer to home.

Spurs struck their first deal with the Hammers since Scott Parker’s switch to north London in 2011 when Mohammed Kudus arrived in a £55million deal and now the unthinkable is being tipped to happen again in another shock summer swoop.

Tottenham had hoped to have Morgan Gibbs-White on board and operating in the attacking midfield role in Frank’s side, only for the Nottingham Forest skipper to do a U-turn and ultimately put pen-to-paper on a new deal at The City Ground.

With that avenue now seemingly closed, Frank is looking at other options, with a fresh report on Tuesday evening suggesting that Leicester standout Bilal El Khannouss is being lined up due to a relegation release clause in his contract.

The chances of a move for Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo appear to be dwindling though, with Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim backtracking on a potential exit due to the player’s strong performances in pre-season thus far.

However, the Daily Mail now claims that Tottenham have surprisingly joined the race to sign West Ham playmaker Lucas Paqueta, who could leave The London Stadium for as little as £30m (€34m / $40m) this summer.

The Brazil international was close to joining Manchester City for a deal close to £80m (€92.5m $107m) two years ago, only for his involvement in betting and spot-fixing allegations to scupper the switch. However, he is now reported to have been cleared on all counts.

The 27-year-old, who scored five goals last season without registering a single assist, is in the final 24 months of his contract, affecting West Ham‘s bargaining power when it comes to demanding a higher price for his sale.

While City boss Pep Guardiola remains a huge fan of the player and could still launch another bid for his services, the fact that The Etihad Stadium outfit moved for Rayan Cherki this summer lessens their need for Paqueta.

To that end, Spurs could get a free run at the West Ham man, although it must be pointed out that selling Paqueta to their bitter London rivals a matter of weeks after Kudus could cause massive dissension at The London Stadium.

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Frank experiments with new No.10 after Kulusevski setback

After failing to sign Gibbs-White, and with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski still on the sidelines, Tottenham boss Thomas Frank was experimenting with a new No.10 in Lucas Bergvall in an opening training session in Hong Kong.

Ahead of Thursday’s pre-season clash with north London rivals Arsenal, last season’s Player and Young Player of the Season, Lucas Bergvall, was featuring just behind the front three in a new role, having mainly played as a No.8 last term.

Tottenham’s need for a No.10 has only increased after club insider Alasdair Gold revealed that Kulusevski is ‘nowhere near returning’ from a knee injury.

Kulusevski underwent surgery back in May following a bad knee injury, which he suffered just ahead of the Europa League final.

The 24-year-old is no longer using crutches, but remains well off returning from injury, and he could miss a fair chunk when the season starts.

Gold told his YouTube channel: “Dejan Kuluseski is nowhere near returning yet. Obviously, he had the patella surgery on his knee in mid-May.

“Thomas Frank warned everyone not to expect him back for the first game of the Premier League season against Burnley. I would say he’s expected to miss far more than that. He’s got a lot of rehab to do on that right knee.”

Maddison, meanwhile, is on the trip to Asia but is continuing to buiild up his fitness ahead of the new season.