Tottenham Hotspur look set to miss out on Nicolas Gonzalez as Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion agree a club-record £25 million deal with the Stuttgart forward, as reported by the Guardian.
They do say the table never lies. But, sometimes, it can be guilty of spinning the odd fib.
Brighton finished a lowly 16th in 2020/21.
If games were decided on ‘Expected Goals (XG)’ rather than actual points, however, Graham Potter’s pretty-passing side would have been challenging the Champions League places rather than glancing nervously over their shoulder at the relegation zone.
Whether Gonzalez can be the difference between another survival battle and a comfortable, mid-table finish, however, remains to be seen.
The Argentina international scored just three times from open play in 2020/21 and did his best Neal Maupay impression during a frustrating 1-1 Copa America draw with Chile earlier this week.
Will Spurs-linked Nicolas Gonzalez solve Brighton’s striker problems?
According to the Guardian, however, a difficult couple of months for Gonzalez have not put Brighton off.
The Seagulls have agreed a deal that will see the 23-year-old become their new record signing, with Gonzalez choosing the Premier League over a potential switch to Gennaro Gattuso’s Fiorentina.
Sky Italia reported as recently as Sunday that Tottenham were also ready to meet Stuttgart’s £25 million demands for a versatile, technically-gifted forward who has been compared to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and World Cup-winning legend Mario Kempes, among others.
Spurs famously missed out on title-winning centre-halves Milan Skriniar and Ruben Dias last summer, while Mike Maignan and Gigi Donnarumma have slipped through the net too over the last couple of weeks.
Is Gonzalez destined to become another ‘one-that-got-away’ for a club whose recruitment remains patchy at best?
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