Tottenham: Brighton to sign £8m man; Argentine to leave; starlet signs contract

By John Arkless

Tottenham Hotspur’s quiet transfer window looks as if it may be ready to spark into life this week, with several exits and arrivals rumoured to be imminent at the club.

There is no more news on the status of Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, the Marseille winger who is close to joining the club for £10.8 million, but several news sources have claimed that the deal is virtually done and will be confirmed any day now.

The arrival of an attacking midfielder will mean that competition for places in the attack will be heating up, and that will naturally lead to a number of fringe players being pushed either further down the manager’s pecking order or out of the door.

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Alex Pritchard looks as if he will be choosing the latter option, after Chris Hughton’s Brighton & Hove Albion agreed a fee of £8 million for the Spurs man. Queens Park Rangers are reportedly still interested in battling for Pritchard’s signature, but Brighton have stolen a march and it looks as if the youngster’s days at White Hart Lane may be numbered.

Although an obviously talented player from his time in the youth set ups and various loan spells away from Tottenham, Pritchard; now 23, has never really looked like transforming that talent into an all round game good enough of commanding a starting place in a side looking for Champions League football or the title.

A move to the Championship will be good for him, allowing him to spread his creative wings, and will give Brighton a great chance on improving on their third place finish last term which saw them narrowly miss out on promotion to the Premier League. It would be a fine move for all.

Another player who looks set to depart is central defender Federico Fazio. The Argentine, who signed for Spurs in 2014, was close to joining West Bromwich Albion last summer and spent the second half of last season on loan in Sevilla, and now it appears that AS Roma may provide him with a way out of White Hart Lane for good.

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The 29-year-old made 20 league appearances in two years at Tottenham, and is never going to oust Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen or replacement Kevin Wimmer from the line-up. Interestingly, Pochettino looks as if he has opted against bringing in a replacement, which is quite a scalding reflection on Fazio, who has been seen as less desirable than untested academy products or auxiliary central defenders in the event of a crisis this season.

This gamble could backfire if any other defender gets injured, with Jan Vertonghen already out for the start of the season, but it appears the manager’s mind is made up, and Fazio will complete a £3.5 million move to Roma. As long as Spurs do not pick up a lot of defensive injuries, the Argentine is not a player they will particularly miss.

Finally, Spurs have reportedly agreed a contract with youth team product Marcus Edwards, after he impressed for the side in a pre-season games against Juventus and Atletico Madrid.

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Pochettino is said to be a big fan of 17-year-old winger Edwards, but attempts to secure a contract back in December were a failure thanks to a disagreement between the club and the player. However, this appears to have been resolved and Edwards will sign a two-year deal.

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