Tottenham lay groundwork to re-sign former Spurs player wanted by West Ham

Tottenham Hotspur have laid some groundwork over potentially re-signing a former Spurs player who’s also a transfer target for West Ham, with chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange seemingly weighing up the possibility of a reunion at N17.

Tottenham slump to 1-0 Europa League defeat at AZ Alkmaar

Ange Postecoglou watched on from the sidelines as Spurs slumped to another poor away defeat in Europe on Thursday evening.

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Spurs are convinced.

The travelling side couldn’t force AZ Alkmaar’s keeper into any real saves over their lacklustre 90 minutes abroad, with striker Dominic Solanke also picking up a late knock on what was a night to forget for Tottenham, as they fell to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.

“Yeah, it wasn’t great from us tonight,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to AZ.

“Pretty much all facets of the game. We didn’t really get to grips with any part of the game. We struggled to gain any momentum with the ball, we weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be without the ball.

“It was a tricky surface but having said that we kind of knew that from yesterday and yeah we just didn’t tackle the challenges we had out there in a real positive way. That allowed AZ to get into a rhythm, which when you’re playing away from home, it is difficult to stem the tide.

“I don’t think it is going out there and not trying, but like I said we didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe. It is always tough, and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events but even after that we didn’t really settle down into the game at all. You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did, so that was a disappointment.”

A good Europa League run is Spurs’ only real opportunity to make anything of this disappointing campaign, so the pressure is on Postecoglou to turn this first leg deficit around.

Off the field, Tottenham are planning for next season already in terms of transfers. Spurs are believed to be targeting new full-backs, with Flamengo defender Wesley Franca among their options as alternatives to the likes of Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie and the in-form Djed Spence.

Tottenham lay groundwork over re-signing West Ham target Dennis Cirkin

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, the Lilywhites could even turn to an ex-player of theirs to reinforce the left-back area – Sunderland defender Dennis Cirkin.

The 22-year-old left Spurs in 2021 to join the Black Cats for an undisclosed fee (BBC), and he’s since gone on to become a crucial player for Regis Le Bris’ side as they chase promotion back to the Premier League.

Cirkin is currently among their top five best-performers in the Championship by average match rating, according to WhoScored, and his performances are attracting attention from elite English sides – including Tottenham.

According to Bailey, Tottenham have been doing work on re-signing Cirkin, but he’s also a target for a plethora of London rivals like West Ham.

“Keep a close eye on Cirkin,” said Bailey to Sunderland AFC News.

“I am told a lot of Premier League clubs have been doing work on him. Chelsea, Tottenham, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Everton and Leeds – he is an outstanding prospect.”

Only Enzo Le Fee has averaged more tackles per 90 for Sunderland than Cirkin, while the Englishman sits joint-top for their highest number of interceptions per game (WhoScored). Cirkin also has three goals and two assists to his name from 31 Championship appearances.