Tottenham Hotspur will face a ‘very complicated’ transfer battle if they want Montpellier striker Elye Wahi to replace Harry Kane in their Premier League frontline.
Earlier this month, Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin expressed his belief that, once Harry Kane completed his move from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich, an approach would come his way for Elye Wahi.
“There are offers. We expect more,” Nicollin told RMC Sport. “We’ve had an offer from Chelsea. We thanked them, but we refused. We wait.
“I had Tottenham, who are interested, and they should move soon. There is also Frankfurt. This is a game of musical chairs; if Kane leaves Tottenham and/or (Randal) Kolo Muani goes from Frankfurt, automatically, things will change.
“We also learned that Benfica was interested.”
Tottenham need Harry Kane replacement
With Kane now gone – making his Bayern bow on Saturday and doing little to disprove the theory that he walked under 13 ladders on his way to Munich as Thomas Tuchel’s side were obliterated in the German Super Cup – expect to see Spurs accelerate their striker search between now and September’s deadline.
But, with Nicollin confirming the interest of Chelsea, Frankfurt and Benfica – and with West Ham reportedly opening talks too – agent Crescenzo Cecere had a point when he suggested that the battle for Wahi’s signature would be a ‘complicated’ one.
“It is unlikely that Montpellier will let him leave for a reasonable fee,” Cecere tells L’Interista, while ruling out a move to Serie A for a player who scored 19 Ligue 1 goals last season at the age of just 20.
“The race (to sign) him is very complicated.”
Montpellier reportedly value Wahi at around £35 million. That is some £10 million more than Spurs’ London neighbours Chelsea offered earlier in the window.
Likened to Kylian Mbappe due to his searing pace and his ruthless finishing ability – Wahi’s stunning solo goal against Angers last term was certainly reminiscent of the PSG superstar – the France U21 forward joins Gent’s Gift Orban on Tottenham’s post-Kane wishlist.
Spurs have, at least, already brought in one exciting young centre-forward; Alejo Veliz joining from Rosario Central.
“Congratulations to Tottenham, who took Alejo Veliz from Rosario Central,” Daniel Bertoni, a World Cup winner in 1978 with Argentina, tells Tuttomercatoweb.
“For me, (Veliz is) a phenomenon.”
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