Euro giants respond to huge Tottenham offer for winger as Spurs eye Gakpo alternative

Tottenham could have to raise their bid for Andreas Schjelderup as Benfica head coach Marco Silva has made it clear the winger is “fundamental” to his plans.

Spurs are looking to avoid being dragged into another relegation battle in the coming season with the Tottenham hierarchy already confirming six new signings.

Andy Robertson, Martin Dubravka and Marcos Senesi all joined on free transfers, while £237m was spent on Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke.

Tottenham are now concentrating on moving some of their bloated squad on, while they are looking to bring in two or three players to improve their attack.

Fabrizio Romano has been insisting that Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Manchester City’s Savinho are their top two targets for both wings.

Giving an update on Gakpo on Wednesday, Romano said on X: ‘Tottenham are in direct talks with Cody Gakpo’s camp over possible move this summer, after approaches revealed in July.

‘Deal depends on Liverpool decision; doors closed back in July but now could depend on financial package/Barcola pursuit.

‘#THFC are trying.’

TEAMtalk revealed earlier today that Tottenham are stepping up efforts to force a breakthrough in their pursuit of Savinho by exploring a potential move for Chelsea winger Pedro Neto.

Spurs have made enquiries over Neto’s availability as they assess contingency options, although Savinho remains the club’s clear first-choice target.

And, as Tottenham continue to work on those deals, it was reportedly recently that Spurs have also submitted a €55m ‘offer’ to sign Benfica winger Schjelderup, who starred at the World Cup for Norway.

Silva explains why Tottenham could face a tough transfer battle

New Benfica head coach Silva, who arrived from Fulham over the summer, insists that the Norway international is still key to his plans at the Portuguese giants.

Explaining why there has been a lot of interest in Schjelderup, Silva told A Bola: “I understand why there is so much talk about Andreas. First, because he has quality. Benfica made public the possible renewal and the offer he has. From the moment that became public, it’s understandable there are conversations.

“Because of the quality he has, because of the last five months of last season and because of the excellent World Cup he had… I think by praising him like this I’ve already answered whether he is fundamental to me or not.”

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Without discussing Benfica’s plans for Schjelderup, Silva laid out his importance to the side, he added: “For the way we want to play, wide players are fundamental. He has very specific characteristics to face low blocks and is capable of doing something different against teams that defend well.

“We’re going to face plenty of those in the Portuguese league. Andreas is a player I believe in a lot and he is different.”

Touching on whether Schjelderup’s mentality has changed because of the latest rumours of moves to Tottenham or elsewhere, Silva continued: “He has been working very well, he is fully committed and he is a great lad, always happy in his day-to-day work. I only have positive things to say about him.

“Our objective is to get the best out of him and help him improve every day so he can help the team. I’m certain he will.”