Tottenham transfer news: Levy pushing to complete bargain £30m deal for standout attacker
Tottenham are reportedly pushing to complete a £30million deal for current loanee Dejan Kulusevski ahead of the summer transfer window.
The Sweden international arrived on loan from Juventus in an 18-month deal back in January 2022, coming in alongside permanent signing Rodrigo Bentancur in a double coup for Antonio Conte at the time.
The duo played major roles in Spurs finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League. Indeed, Kulusevski was among the goals and assists, while Bentancur forged a strong midfield engine room with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Things have not gone as well this season for the pair, however.
Bentancur suffered a season-ending injury in the 4-1 loss at Leicester, while Kulusevski has not quite looked the same player after battling injury issues for much of the season.
But despite that, Football Insider reports that Tottenham have an obligation to buy the player permanently for a fee of around £30m. But that is only if he plays at least 45 minutes of 20 Premier League matches this season and the club finishes in the top four.
The report further adds that Daniel Levy is pushing hard and that the deal is close.
Kulusevski is currently on 18 Premier League appearances for an inconsistent Spurs side. And while the appearance mark will not be hard to reach, the top four is certainly no given.
Conte’s men have a bad habit of following really impressive results with really bad ones. Indeed, as impressive as the wins against Manchester City, West Ham and Chelsea were the losses to Leicester, Sheffield United in the FA Cup and Wolves were equally atrocious.
Battle for fourth set to go down to wire
Tottenham do currently hold that fourth spot but Newcastle are only four points behind with two games in hand. But perhaps, more worryingly, Liverpool appear to be on somewhat of a charge and are only six points behind and have also played two games less than Spurs.
But in terms of Kulusevski, there is a feeling that he is still building up his fitness after his injury lay-off and should get better during what is left of the campaign.
And £30m for a 22-year-old international attacker with that sort of quality is not to be sniffed at.
Tottenham are back in action on Wednesday evening when they host AC Milan in the second leg of their Champions League last-16, trailing 1-0 from the away fixture.
They then welcome Nottingham Forest on Saturday in need of three points to boost those top-four hopes.
