Tottenham Make Club-Record Offer to Sign ‘Unbelievable’ Star, Asking Price Met

Tottenham Hotspur have submitted a club-record offer to sign Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi, according to journalist Duncan Castles.

Spurs are entering a new era under manager Thomas Frank after he was brought in from Brentford to replace Ange Postecoglou, who was sacked at the end of the 2024/2025 season. Adding a new centre-back could be one of Tottenham’s priorities, especially if Frank opts to play a three-at-the-back as he did at Brentford.

So far in the summer transfer window, Spurs have added Mohammed Kudus to their squad, joining the north London club from West Ham United earlier in the month. Mathys Tel also made his loan move from Bayern Munich permanent, and Daniel Levy is clearly showing he wants to back Frank in the market this summer.

Tottenham Make Club-Record Offer for Zabaryni

PSG are also keen on the defender

Speaking on The Transfers Podcast, Castles has confirmed that Tottenham have now submitted a club-record bid to sign Bournemouth’s Zabarnyi, offering in the region of £60m. This bid surpasses the initial £55m Spurs paid for Dominic Solanke and does meet Bournemouth’s asking price for the Ukrainian international…

“But Tottenham, one of several Premier League clubs who are unsurprisingly interested in the 22-year-old, one of the quickest centre-backs in the Premier League and almost a perfect attendance record in the Premier League over his two seasons at Bournemouth. Guidance from Bournemouth is that Tottenham have offered €70m [£60m] for the player, which is owner Bill Foley’s asking price, and which would represent a new club record transfer fee for Tottenham, exceeding the initial £55m with £10m of variables that they paid Bournemouth for Dominic Solanke last summer.”

Zabarnyi has been a superb addition for the Cherries, forming a strong partnership with Dean Huijsen before his much-deserved move to Real Madrid. The Ukrainian perhaps didn’t get the credit he should have considering Huijsen’s performances alongside him, but it appears that Tottenham are appreciative of the displays he’s produced during his time at Bournemouth.

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Tottenham Hotspur offered a release clause-triggering £60million for Morgan Gibbs-White, but Nottingham Forest would reportedly prefer selling to Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur made Nottingham Forest a £60million release clause-triggering offer for Morgan Gibbs-White over 10 days ago.

The club had a medical planned for 12 July, but that never happened. Despite wanting to move, Gibbs-White has yet to set foot in Hotspur Way this summer because Forest believe that the approach was illegal due to the alleged disclosure of confidential contractual details.

They appear to essentially be threatening legal action after putting his agent and Tottenham on notice. The player is now away from the club due to a private matter communicated to Forest. Here is the latest on Gibbs-White:

City stance

Manchester City reportedly have no plans of reviving their interest in Gibbs-White. They are said to have previously been interested in the England international earlier this year.

That was, though, when Forest reputedly had a £100million asking price on Gibbs-White. Since then, they have spent the best part of £80million on a pair of midfielders: Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders.

As such, our sister title the Manchester Evening News states that they are happy with their strength in that area and have ended their interest in Gibbs-White with no intention of re-entering the race. They are instead focusing on outgoings this month.

Marinakis hope

That stance will seemingly not go down well at the City Ground as Evangelos Marinakis reportedly hoped Man City would bid for Gibbs-White. talkSPORT claims that the Forest owner and Gibbs-White agreed that he would only leave for a certain level of club.

Despite playing in the Champions League this season after winning the Europa League, reputedly, Marinakis does not regard Spurs as at that requisite level. That is said to be what has angered the club’s owner, likely due to Tottenham finishing 17th in the Premier League and 27 points behind Forest in seventh, who only qualified for the Conference League.

Gibbs-White did not travel to Portugal for Forest’s pre-season tour with his teammates Monday. Instead, he is absent from the team due to a private matter not believed to be transfer or football related.

Notably, he is engaged to the influencer Britney De Villiers. On Sunday, she posted on Instagram, intimating she has a high-risk pregnancy.

“This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with, and I just don’t really remember a time I wasn’t overwhelmed with stress,” she wrote alongside a photo of her lying on a hospital bed with a pulse oximeter on her finger.