Report: Tottenham now want to sign £30m league champion who 'never stops running', 'he's a machine'

By Shamanth Jayaram

According to Jeunes Footeux, Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte wants to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye this summer.

Spurs are short of options in the middle of the park. They decided to allow Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele to go out on loan in January, while Dele Alli was sold to Everton.

Rodrigo Bentancur was brought in, and he is proving to be an exceptional signing. However, with rumours linking Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with a move away from the club this summer, Tottenham could end up having another huge hole in the middle of their park.

Irrespective of what happens, Spurs have to invest in a new midfielder before the start of next season, and Gueye is reportedly on their shortlist.

Tottenham want to sign Idrissa Gueye from PSG

The summer transfer window is not too far away now and Spurs have been linked with a whole host of midfielders already. Gueye may just be the most experienced one yet.

The Senegal international, who recently lifted the French league title, will enter the final year of his contract this summer, and that has reportedly alerted Tottenham. It has been claimed that Conte, Paratici and co are really ‘attentive’ about the midfielder’s situation, and a move this summer is a possibility.

Since his move to Paris from Everton in 2019, Gueye has played over 100 times for PSG and has won seven trophies – including three French league titles in four years.

The 32-year-old is very experienced at the top level, can hold his own in the middle of the park against the big teams and knows the Premier League very well. That may well be why Conte is interested in a move this summer.

Thomas Tuchel is a huge fan

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who worked with Gueye at PSG, publicly claimed that he fought really hard to sign the midfielder from Everton in the summer of 2019.

Following a huge Champions League game that PSG won 3-0 against Real Madrid in 2019, Tuchel lavished praise on Gueye and even branded him as a ‘machine’.

Tuchel said in a press conference, as relayed by L’Equipe: “We fought hard to hire this player.

“He is a machine! (laughs). He never stops running, wins a lot of balls and against a team like Real Madrid, this is very important.”

The link doesn’t represent a high-profile target for Spurs, which goes against others they have been linked with. Antonio Conte’s side also have been said to have an interest in Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and Pau Torres from Villarreal.