When you take a glance at Brighton and Hove Albion’s recent recruitment record, it’s fair to say the South Coast club deserve the benefit of the doubt as they close in on a record-breaking £25 million deal for Nicolas Gonzalez, a striker who was also a Tottenham Hotspur target despite scoring just three goals from open play last season (Guardian).
Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana proved inspired additions on free transfers, while Joel Veltman, Dan Burn, Adam Webster and the now £50 million-rated Tariq Lamptey all represent incredible value for money.
And that’s without mentioning Jakub Moder, Michal Karbownik and the highly regarded Moises Caicedo – three future stars who were attracting interest from clubs who, with all due respect to Brighton, tend to reside a few rungs higher on the footballing ladder.
And Gonzalez doesn’t deserve to be written off on the back of an injury-hit 2020/21 campaign. Those pesky fitness problems prevented him from really showcasing his talents in Germany’s top flight.
The fact the 23-year-old has been linked with Inter Milan, Leeds United and more – while earning seven caps for an Argentina side overloaded with attacking quality – speaks volumes.
Will Brighton beat Tottenham to Gonzalez?
And there are fears growing among increasingly irritated Tottenham fans that Brighton’s gain may be Spurs’ loss.
Sky Italia reported earlier this week that the London giants had expressed a willingness to meet Stuttgart’s demands for a forward valued in the region of £25 million.
Now, it seems Tottenham will discover how Arsenal felt when Emi Buendia put pen to paper with Aston Villa instead.
Is Gonzalez a 30 goal a season forward capable of filling a Harry Kane-shaped void in Tottenham’s front line? Perhaps not.
But he is an exciting, up-and-coming and technically gifted forward who would have brought speed, skill and no shortage of versatility to a Tottenham side eternally overreliant on their talismanic captain.
Here’s what some Tottenham fans had to say about the situation on Twitter:
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