Frank wants Tottenham to sign £23m captain amid Eberechi Eze blow

da brwin： Tottenham boss Thomas Frank was about to be backed with the signing of Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, but Arsenal have now thrown a major spanner in the works by sensationally hijacking the deal overnight.

da fazobetai： Eze had agreed personal terms over a move to Spurs, and earlier this week, reliable media sources were reporting that Tottenham verbally agreed the finances of a deal with Palace too.

An agreement in principle was reached to sign the 27-year-old (Ben Jacobs), but in a shock twist, Arsenal burst back into the race for Eze.

After losing Kai Havertz to injury, Spurs’ rivals swiftly moved to strike a full verbal agreement of their own on Wednesday evening, and despite Frank’s side doing the same thing days earlier, Eze is now set to join Arsenal instead as he ultimately prefers a move to N5.

There were warning signs that a Tottenham deal for Eze was far from complete, with Sky journalist Kaveh Solhekol previously telling supporters that his signing was no guarantee.

“The deal is not going to be agreed until Palace get what they want from the deal,” said Solhekol earlier this week.

“They also need to line up a replacement, because he’s such an important player for them. The interesting thing, of course, is that Palace have got this important European play-off game on Thursday night against Frederikstad.

“Will he be involved in that game, or will the deal with Spurs be done so quickly that he may be involved with Spurs against Manchester City? I think we’re getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.”

News of Eze’s rejection comes as a hammer blow for Frank, with Tottenham now forced to dip back into the market for a new number 10 yet again this summer after missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White earlier in the window.

Away from their disastrous search for a playmaker, it is believed that the north Londoners are also after a new winger and a centre-back.

Son Heung-min bid goodbye to Spurs after 10 years recently, departing for LAFC in the MLS, and this has left a seismic gap in quality where the South Korean megastar once was.

Dejan Kulusevski also remains out injured with a serious knee injury, prompting Tottenham to scour for a forward who can provide the same level of threat as the Swede and Son.

Tottenham have held talks with Man City over a deal for Savinho, including rejected bids, but as things stand, City are apparently blocking the move (Fabrizio Romano) – forcing Frank’s side to look at alternatives – even if they reportedly haven’t given up just yet.

Thomas Frank wants Tottenham to sign Nathan Collins after Eberechi Eze

In terms of their search for a defender, amid Radu Dragusin’s lengthy lay-off, Brentford captain Nathan Collins is becoming a more serious target.

According to CaughtOffside, Frank is keen to work with Collins again at Tottenham, and the club are expected to make imminent contact over a deal.

The site adds that we can expect movement on this shortly, with Spurs standing out as the most likely destination for him if Keith Andrews’ side decide to sell after what has already been a very difficult summer.

With Frank and co stepping up their efforts to tempt the Irishman, it is worth noting that the 24-year-old, who was signed from Wolves two years ago for just £23m, has been lavished with praise for his mentality.