Tottenham sign £54m winger and Napoli gem in confusing new January transfer window prediction

Tottenham Hotspur shouldn’t be doing this badly. Guglielmo Vicario is far from the worst goalkeeper in the Premier League and Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero is a relatively strong centre-back pairing in a league where almost every champion has been built on a solid defensive core.

Djed Spence became an England international this season, Pedro Porro will be a key player for one of the world cup favourites and Joao Palhinha is a defensive animal who’s more than proven in the Premier League. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are two of the most exciting midfield prospects in the land while James Maddison and Xavi Simons should be a golden creative axis.

Meanwhile we’re less than two years removed from Sir Gareth Southgate being lambasted for leaving Dominic Solanke out of the England Euro 2024 squad after scoring 19 Premier League goals in the Premier League season and Mohammed Kudus almost single-handedly carried West Ham United in the last few years.

Yet, here we are. The point of all of this is to show that Spurs shouldn’t need a major overhaul in the January transfer window. They have all the pieces to be a contender in a down year for three of their big six counterparts, and most of their stars are Premier League proven.

Given the inconsistency of Mathys Tel and Richarlison plus Solanke’s patchy injury record, another striking option would be useful while Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski returning from their spells on the sidelines should provide a huge boost to Thomas Frank, or whoever is leading the team by then.

However, after the Levy years fans are keen to see bigger splashes in the transfer market, so it’s an interesting window to follow. Conor Gallagher’s arrival already seems a strange one given his strength is industry rather than creativity.

So to see how the rest will unfold, we jumped to the end of January in Football Manager 26 these are the transfers it predicted...

Tottenham go big in January

Baris Alper Yilmaz - £54 million from Galatasaray - The marquee signing of the window, shelling out £54m on Yilmaz would be a risky move. The winger has shone at times for Galatasaray this season and played a key role in their European exploits, but in the league ranked 18th in the world below the MLS, J-League, EFL Championship and La Liga 2 he’s only scored four times this season.

His eight assists are slightly better, but there’s little to suggest he’d significantly help solve Spurs’ attacking woes.

Sam Beukema - £28m from Napoli - Beukema has failed to really establish himself at Napoli after moving there for around £28m from Bologna in the summer. He’s only started nine Serie A games without suffering any significant injuries, with his side only possessing the joint-seventh best record in the division.

So bailing out Napoli for their investment in the Dutchman would be a rogue move by Tottenham, though they could do with another option at the back. Beukema is 27 so wouldn’t hold too much sell-on value either - a baffling move all-round.

Raphael Guerreiro - £5.25m from Bayern Munich - The French-born Portugal international is out of contract at the end of the season so Bayern may not fight too hard if there’s a possibility that he can leave for a fee. He’d bring experience and versatility to the full-back department at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but like the other two arrivals, Guerreiro would be unlikely to transform Spurs’ season.

Solanke’s head-scratching exit

Dominic Solanke - £8.25m to Sunderland - You read that right! This would be a wild move. We’ve no idea what FM26 thinks Tottenham would gain from this deal and it would represent a loss of around £60m for Spurs. Solanke is contracted to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until 2030 so it’s not like there’s a rush to cash in on him for the first offer coming on the wires either. Hell of a deal for Sunderland, though.

Ashley Phillips - £14m to Wolverhampton Wanderers - Phillips has been a mainstay for Stoke City in the first half of this season, and this would allow Spurs to turn a very healthy profit - not that it would make up for the Solanke loss. With Wolves gearing up for spending next season in the Championship, this would be a smart move that would help them whatever happens.

Finally, FM26 predicts a slew of loan moves: Aaron Maguire to AFC Wimbledon, Damola Ajayi to Bristol City, Jamie Donley to Luton Town, Herbie James to Northampton Town and Oliver Irow to Braintree Town.