Napoli midfielder Jorginho seems to be the man in demand, heading into the summer transfer window. The Italy international was a star performer for the Partenopei in their Serie A title challenge this campaign and his performances haven’t gone unnoticed, with a number of clubs lining up to sign him.
As per reports, Premier League champions Manchester City have been credited with interest while neighbours Manchester United too, have an eye on the Brazil-born midfielder. Tottenham Hotspur have also entered the chase for the Napoli ace.
Spurs are in the market for a new midfielder amidst uncertainty over the future of Belgian international Mousa Dembele.
However, with reports claiming that Jorginho is rated at £53m, which means Tottenham have to break their transfer record to sign the player, and given the fact that City are in fact favourites to land the midfielder, it doesn’t seem likely that the Lilywhites will be able to capture their man. In that case, here are three alternatives that they should be looking at.
Jean Michael Seri (OGC Nice)
The 26-year-old Ivory Coast midfielder has established himself as one of the most coveted players across Europe over the past couple of seasons, on the back of some strong performances for Nice.
Seri has featured in 41 games across all competitions for the French outfit this season, notching up a solitary goal and 9 assists to go with. An energetic, box-to-box runner, Seri possesses a brilliant passing range and has the ability to unlock defences with his accurate through balls.
In the 2017/18 campaign, he has averaged a total of 86.2 passes per game at a success rate of 90.2%, playing 2.1 key passes every game.
Add to that, his dribbling abilities and accurate set-piece delivery, Tottenham could have a readymade replacement for Mousa Dembele.
Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid)
The 24-year-old has previously been on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur and the North Londoners should definitely rekindle their interest in the player.
Kovacic, having joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2015, hasn’t been able to nail down a regular place in the first-team, thanks to the presence of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro. His situation isn’t likely to improve next season either. He has made 35 appearances for the Galacticos this season, only 21 of which have been from start and has managed 3 assists so far.
A solid midfielder with good all-round abilities, Kovacic mixes up tenacity with technique and class, much like his compatriot Modric, who enjoyed a great spell with Spurs previously.
A top-notch passer of the ball, the 24-year old Croatian also adds bite to the midfield with his tackling. Definitely worth a look.
Abdoulaye Doucoure (Watford)
The Watford midfield powerhouse has had a brilliant 2017/18 campaign on a personal level, which has seen him win the Hornets’ club Player of the Year award and attract interest from several Premier League big hitters including Tottenham and their local rivals Arsenal.
Doucoure, this season, has found the back of the net on 7 occasions and has set up 4 more goals for his teammates in 38 appearances across all competitions. The 25-year-old has won back possession in the midfield third the most number of times by any Premier League player this season (183) and enjoys a high tackle (2.1 per game) and interception (1.5 per game) success rate.
His passing success of 83.6% with an average of 60.3 passes and 1.1 key passes per game also highlights the fact that he can recycle the ball effectively after gaining back possession.
The former France youth international has been one of the unheralded stars of the Premier League this season and Tottenham should look at him as a viable option ahead of the next campaign.