A £60m star with shades of Dembele could be about to sign for Spurs
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Published Aug 30, 2026, 2:10 PM GMT+1
Matt specialises in football analysis, transfer insight and original feature writing across the Premier League, EFL and Scottish football.
A sports writer for 15 years, Matt graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in 2018 and has developed particular expertise in Arsenal and the wider Premier League while also reporting on clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, Celtic, Rangers and teams across the EFL. He joined Football FanCast as part of its writing team in 2019 before progressing to Assistant Editor and then becoming a Senior Editor in 2021.
His work combines authoritative reporting with data-led analysis, tactical insight and informed transfer assessment. Matt regularly examines how players fit into different systems, what their underlying numbers reveal about their performances and whether transfer targets represent realistic solutions for clubs. His analysis aims to go beyond the headline, explaining not just what has happened but what it means for a team, manager or player.
Matt's journalism has also appeared through the Press Association, with his work featured by Sky Sports and the Daily Mail. He previously served as Arsenal and Premier League Editor at VAVEL and gained first-hand club-media experience with Chesterfield FC. Over his career, he has interviewed figures including Arsène Wenger, Ray Parlour, Alan Smith, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton. Matt's voice has been heard across Arsenal Fan TV and Love Sport Radio.
Through his reporting, analysis and features, Matt brings readers credible football insight grounded in research, statistics, tactical understanding and years of experience covering the professional game.
Today, Matt leads Football FanCast's features team as Senior Editor, overseeing the publication's opinion coverage while helping shape its overall editorial standards and content strategy.
Long gone are the days of Mousa Dembele, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli at Tottenham Hotspur.
That said, in the modern day, Spurs are trying their hardest to create a team flooded with similar quality under Roberto De Zerbi.
This has been a big summer for the Lilywhites and on paper, they now arguably have their best squad of players since Mauricio Pochettino was in the dugout.
However, football is not played on paper. Out on the grass, De Zerbi's side have been seriously underwhelming, losing their opening two Premier League matches without even scoring.
Why Spurs need to sign one more forward after Savio and Marmoush
At the start of the summer, Spurs moved quickly to improve issue number one; their backline. Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andrew Robertson have all arrived but the problem still remains. Tottenham are conceding too many goals.
They sought a midfield resolution midway through the window in the form of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes but they are still waiting for the former to come good. His first two league outings have not been hugely productive.
REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Now, in the dying embers of the open market, they are homing in on new forwards. Savio and Omar Marmoush have arrived from City and have enjoyed mixed debuts to date.
Savinho missed the Newcastle game through injury but made a devastating impact off the bench against Championship side Charlton Athletic in midweek.
His goal was fabulous. He drove aggressively towards the Charlton backline, cut inside and then wrongfooted the goalkeeper with a finish at the near post.
Marmoush, on the other hand, did not have the same swashbuckling debut. He had three shots against the Toon but only one of them was on target. He will no doubt have better days in Spurs colours.
The very fact, however, that Pedro Porro played at right wing said it all about Tottenham's options. Mathys Tel, after an impressive pre-season, has also reverted to type now that the Premier League is back. His sorry free-kick on Saturday that flew into the stands just about said it all.
Reuters/Andrew Boyers
So, they need more, they need one more to be precise, and that very player could be on the way.
The perfect last signing Spurs need to finalise
The fortunes of Tottenham's forward players this term have been mixed. In the Premier League, they have struggled to really get going. The fact they are yet to score, despite all of the money spent, is damning.
In a bid to improve their fortunes in that regard, they wanted to add Liverpool's Cody Gakpo to the mix. As of a few days ago they were leading the race to sign the Dutchman.
However, in a twist of fate, Manchester City have come calling and and providing Liverpool can sign a replacement, are set to lure him away from Anfield. An alternative is required and they have found the ideal man in Everton superstar Iliman Ndiaye.
Indeed, Fabrizio Romano reported on Sunday morning that a remarkable swap deal is "on" for Richarlison to head back to Everton and for Spurs to sign Ndiaye.
The latter has already said "yes" to joining Tottenham in the words of Romano, who notes that Richarlison has three offers on the table to move clubs. That could well be the key point in any move going through between now and Tuesday's deadline.
talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook has outlined that Spurs are set to pay a £60m fee to prise him away from Merseyside.
Like fellow new signing Savio, Ndiaye has not been a rampant scorer of goals of late. The 26-year-old only scored six times last term. Yet, there is a history there of being more clinical.
In 2024/25, the Senegal sensational netted 11 times for the Toffees. In 2022/23, when he was playing for Sheffield United in the Championship, he scored 15.
So, he may not be a 20-goal-a-season man, but what is Ndiaye's best quality?
Well, the wide forward is one of the best dribblers of a football around. Only one Premier League player - Jeremy Doku - completed more dribbles in England's top-flight last term. Meanwhile, only six players in Europe's top five leagues completed more than his 70 dribbles across the whole of 2025/26. He's in elite company; those players, in order, were Lamine Yamal, Yan Diomande, Vinicius Junior, Kenan Yildiz, Doku and Kylian Mbappe.
Most dribbles in Europe's big leagues - 2025/26
Player
Dribble tally
1) Lamine Yamal
127
2) Yan Diomande
115
3) Vinicius Junior
85
4) Kenan Yildiz
78
5) Jeremy Doku
77
6) Kylian Mbappe
73
7) Iliman Ndiaye
70
8) Yann Gboho
70
9) Victor Munoz
69
10) Antonio Nusa
68
Truth be told, Spurs have really missed this ability to drag the ball up the pitch efficiently since Heung-min Son departed a year ago. However, you arguably have to go back to the days of Dembele to find a dribbler quite as efficient as Ndiaye could prove to be in Spurs colours.
Jack Wilshere once remarked that the former Spurs midfielder's "dribbling was a joke", while Kyle Walker went as far as to say "he's probably the best dribbler I've ever seen".
Remarkably, he was even better than Ndiaye in that regarding during his pomp. Dembele completed 2.6 dribbles per game during the 2016/17 campaign. For context, only five players, including Alexis Sanchez, Wilfried Zaha and Eden Hazard, completed more.
Meanwhile, only seven players in the whole divison made more overall dribbels throughout the course of that season.
So, while Ndiaye and Dembele may play in different positions, this is exciting for Tottenham supporters. Indeed, it very much looks as though they are getting their hands on a player with elite carrying, something the Belgian was famed for during his time in north London.
2 days ago
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REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Reuters/Andrew Boyers
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