I hear you saying to yourself: You know what, I don’t think we’ve had enough football this summer, what we need is one more major tournament. Great news! The Olympics start tomorrow, with the opening ceremony taking place in Paris this weekend, and one hell of an Olympic football tournament taking place in the coming weeks!
This is primarily an U23 tournament with a few older players allowed, so these games will mostly involve younger players who you may not be as familiar with. That said, there are a number of players involved in the Paris Olympics who have been linked to Spurs, at least nominally, over the summer and before. I’ve been following the transfer links – there are 105 names on my spreadsheet from last February, so this list is mostly a cross-reference between that spreadsheet and the Olympic lists, plus one or two players who aren’t linked but perhaps should be.
So let’s highlight a few players that Spurs fans might want to keep an eye on. And be warned: most of them play for France.
France (first match against the USA, Wednesday July 24)
Ryan Cherki (Lyon)
Spurs seem to have been at least nominally linked to Cherki for years now, but while he has appeared on a few ‘lists’ this summer, there doesn’t seem to be much real interest in him. It’s a shame, because he’s pretty good – a ball-playing midfielder, he’s not a prolific goalscorer but had 3G+9a for Lyon last season and had over 4 successful dribbles/90, but has been somewhat tainted by perceptions of poor attitude. He’s the closest to a move to Dortmund at the moment, but the latest update indicates that any move is on hold as he’s not Dortmund’s first choice. There’s still time, Johan!
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Desire Gifted (Stade Rennais)
Yeah, this guy. He’s really good. Extremely good. The kind of winger/central midfielder who could absolutely explode in Ange Postecoglou’s system, and who, at 19, has plenty of time to develop further. That said, he’s got all his potential at this point, so it’s an expensive bet on his future performance, much like with Brennan Johnson. Still, this kid’s ceiling is highbut Stade Rennais are expecting a huge salary well over €60m, and at the moment it seems more likely that he will head to Bayern Munich or PSG. There are indications that Spurs are an outsider for him, so maybe they just need to set up a phone call with Ange to say “my friend” repeatedly and convince him of his plans for the future. It’s worked before!
Bradley Locko (Brest)
Tottenham need a replacement/rotational left-back option for Destiny Udogie, and Locko’s name has been mentioned on several occasions. Some suggest Spurs have recently expressed an interest in him. The 22-year-old left-back from Brest has been on my tracking spreadsheet since May – he offers plenty of attacking play from deep positions (1.94 dribbles completed/90) but also seems to be a chromulent passer, suggesting he could well switch positions. The question is whether he can push Udogie into a position, and potentially elevate both their games. Locko should get plenty of minutes in Paris during the Olympics, so he would be one to watch if you’re watching France (and you should be watching France).
Lukeba Castle (RB Leipzig)
This is more of an outsider. There are no real strong or weak links between Lukeba and Tottenham, but he is a highly rated centre-back/left-back hybrid, and Spurs could use another player in that area. He is extremely strong on the ball and comfortable in defence, and can slide to the left if needed to replace or cover the left-back position as well. He is a regular starter for RB Leipzig who don’t seem too keen on letting him go, but there are suggestions he could be bought for somewhere in the £20-25m range. I like him.
Argentina (first match against Morocco, Wednesday July 24)
Cristian Medina (Boca Juniors)
Tottenham were linked with the 22-year-old Boca Juniors midfielder back in April, but there has been absolutely nothing since, and those initial links were probably driven by the media or agents. He is a powerful passer and it is not easy to break into the Boca Juniors first team at 19. Medina seems like a perfectly talented player, but Spurs seem to have their own targets now, I am sure he is on a list somewhere, though. Boca’s season has only just started, but he had 3G+1A in 1300 minutes for Boca last season. He is worth keeping an eye on, but I doubt he will be a priority target for Spurs in the remainder of the window.
Spain (first match against Uzbekistan, Wednesday July 24)
Alex Baena (Villarreal)
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Baena has been linked with Spurs since last April, and the 22-year-old Villarreal midfielder has a lot to offer. He can play across the midfield and his stats are seriously impressive, especially his playmaking numbers: 5G+17A in all competitions last season, including 2G+3A in the Europa League last season. Unai Emery apparently likes him for Villa. He has mostly played as a number 8 or left winger for the Yellow Submarine and I could see him as a rotation option for James Maddison as a central playmaker. The problem with Baena is that he is a bit of a jerk – he got into big trouble last year for allegedly making a disparaging comment to teammate Federico Valverde on the Villarreal team bus after his wife nearly lost their unborn child; Valverde punched Baena and then sued him over the incident, although Baena’s camp denies it ever happened. So that’s pretty much what Alex Baena is: a good player, but perhaps one we should avoid in terms of team unity, good stats and atmosphere. But you should keep an eye on him in a young and talented Spain team.
Japan (first match against Paraguay, Wednesday July 24)
Look, look at them, okay?
I don’t have anyone in particular to watch in the Japan team, they’re just supposed to be technical, good and fun. Japan finished fourth at the 2020 Olympics, losing the bronze medal match to Mexico, and we know Ange Postecoglou has had success in Japan and has no qualms about scouting that part of the world for underrated talent. In the warm-up friendlies before this week, they beat the USA 2-0 and drew 1-1 with hosts France. I’m no expert on international Under-23 football, but this seems to indicate underdog status to me. I hope Spurs have scouts in Paris.
Did I miss anyone? Are there any players that Spurs aren’t linked to but SHOULD be? Let us know in the comments.