Chasing the wrong name at the wrong price is how transfer windows get wasted, and Tottenham’s decision to quietly step back from Rafael Leao says more about Roberto De Zerbi’s priorities this summer than any headline release clause ever could.
According to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel on Saturday, Tottenham are not currently in negotiations with AC Milan or Leao’s camp over a move for the Portugal winger, despite weeks of speculation linking the pair. For supporters who have spent the summer building imaginary front threes around Leao’s reported €175m release clause, or the cut-price €50-60m deal Milan were said to be willing to accept, the update lands like a mild letdown. But De Zerbi’s actual plan may excite Spurs fans just as much.
Romano was direct on the subject: “The main names to take into consideration for Tottenham for the winger positions are Cody Gakpo but at the moment Liverpool are yet to open doors to an exit and Savinho. These two players are considered priorities for Tottenham for the winger position. On Rafael Leao, I’m not aware of negotiations between Tottenham, his agent and Milan, at the moment.”
Yet, looking deeper at who Romano says is on the list, the picture makes more sense than the Leao noise ever did.
Savinho Is ‘Number One, Two And Three’ For A Reason
Romano was emphatic that Savinho remains Tottenham’s clearest target, adding: “Savinho is number one, two and three because Tottenham already wanted him one year ago.” Spurs made their interest in the Manchester City winger public last summer, and that chase has defined De Zerbi’s search for attacking width ever since. With City still weighing their own squad plans, Tottenham’s advantage is that they have already done the background work and personal terms conversations, valuation checks.
That matters this deep into a summer where Spurs have already committed £237m to six permanent and free-transfer arrivals, headlined by Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. Every remaining pound needs to be spent on a player De Zerbi is confident will start, not a reclamation project.
Why Cody Gakpo Is Stuck Behind Liverpool’s Door
Gakpo’s situation is different. Romano was careful to note that Liverpool “are yet to open doors to an exit,” which is the real obstacle rather than any hesitation from Tottenham. Gakpo has been a useful, versatile forward option on Merseyside, and Liverpool have shown no urgency to sanction a sale meaning Spurs’ interest, first reported at the end of June, remains a watching brief rather than an active negotiation.
It leaves Tottenham working two tracks at very different speeds: one they can push hard on now in Savinho, and one they can only monitor in Gakpo until Liverpool’s stance shifts. Leao, for all his World Cup form with Portugal, currently sits on neither track.
None of this rules out a Leao return to the conversation later in the window. Milan’s willingness to sell under new manager Ruben Amorim hasn’t gone away, and De Zerbi has shown all summer he isn’t afraid to move fast once a deal firms up. But for now, the message from the best-connected voice in the game is clear: Tottenham’s winger business runs through Savinho and, patience permitting, Gakpo not the player generating the biggest headlines.
With Eli Junior Kroupi’s move edging closer up front, De Zerbi’s attacking rebuild is starting to take a clearer shape even if it isn’t the shape some fans expected this week.
