Tottenham Transfer Talk on Wednesday with THBN

Tottenham Transfer Talk on Wednesday with THBN begins with news that Troy Parrott has signed a new 5-year contract.

He is perhaps a year away from regular cameo roles yet. He is only a 17-year-old (18 in February) after all.

On to transfer news and a player Spurs have been following for a few years now, Paco Alcácer.

Spurs have been following him since his time at Barcelona where he was continually linked with a switch to White Hart Lane, although that never materialized with Barcelona insisting on buyback clauses for all their transfers.

That, of course, made it difficult because if he joined Spurs and was a success, Barcelona could simply buy him back at a pre-set price and there would be nothing Tottenham could do about it, they would have had to comply.

Lack of opportunity at Barcelona meant he joined Borussia Dortmund on 28 August 2018 on loan for £1.8m (€2.11m - AUS$3.43m - US$2.36m) turning into a purchase a year later for £19.57 million (€23m - AUS$37.38m - US$25.67m) plus £4.25 million €5m - AUS$8.13m - US$5.58m) in add-ons that won't all have kicked in yet.

In 15 games in Germany this season he has scored 7 goals and had 2 assists. However, he has only played 820 minutes across all competitions, the equivalent of 9.11 games.

What is in our favour is that he wants more game time and his relationship is reported to have broken down with the head coach.

Dortmund has also signed 19-year-old (20 in July) Norwegian international striker Erling Haaland from league leaders RB Leipzig for £17.03m (€20m - AUS$32.50m - US$22.34m).

We are not the only club chasing Alcácer, Wolves are another. Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc also reports clubs in Spain are chasing him, namely Atlético de Madrid is they can't seal an Edinson Cavani from PSG deal, Real Betis, Valencia and Sevilla.

Reports suggest the Germans value him at £34.07m (€40m - AUS$65m - US$44.70m). He was on £90,000 a week (€105,822 - AUS$171,945 - US$118,053) at Barcelona and Dortmund agreed to pay all his salary during the loan period so those suggesting he is on £65,000 a week (€74,434 - AUS$124,163 - US$85,267) are probably way off the mark. 

Barcelona retain the right to match any offer made to Alcácer and also inserted a 5% sell-on clause in his transfer to Dortmund, meaning they receive 5% of any future profit made.

As soon as Harry Kane is fit he will become first choice striker again so why would a player complaining about game time transfer to a club where in 2 months he is going to a backup striker again?

Loans are probably all we can expect this window with a rebuilding in the summer.

Another striker we are looking at is 24-year-old (25 in July) Polish international (10 caps, 5 goals) Krzysztof Piątek.

Piątek plays in Italy for AC Milan having moved from Genoa last January for £34.2 million (€40.22m - AUS$65.35m - US$44.87m). This season he has scored 4 goals in 18 appearances totalling 1,189 minutes equivalent to 13.21 full games.

However last season he scored 30 goals and had 3 assists in 42 games in all competitions. In Serie A alone he scored 22 goals and had 1 assist in 37 games. He scored in the opening 7 games of the season and in all in the league scored in 19 different games and an assist in another.

Zlatan Ibrahimović has returned to AC Milan for a second spell and there is speculation that that could spark the exit of Krzysztof Piątek. He has only played a full game once in the last seven matches, a game in which he scored a goal.

How accurate the suggestion that Milan value him at £27.19m (€32m - AUS$51.98m - US$35.70m) I couldn't say.

Aston Villa are watching him (alternatives Olympiakos forward Youssef El Arabi and Gregoire Defrel of Sassuolo) while Newcastle United are reportedly in negotiations for a loan deal with an option to buy in the summer having scouted him. 

West Ham United hold an interest as do Everton but further reports suggest he has rejected offers from Crystal Palace and Genoa because he wants to stay at Milan. Other reports suggest he only wants to sign for a club with the stature of AC Milan.

It seems Milan are happy to let him go but not to a Serie A side which dampens the chances of Roma or Fiorentina signing him but increases Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig's chances.

Having said that the head coach is happy for him to stay and says there is a place for him at the San Siro. 

It's a confusing world with all these reporters guessing what is happening and reporters over here then copying whichever story they happen to find. Still, you now have a collection of stories and opinions to which to apply some common sense.

Also on Spurs striker radar is Inter Milan striker Gabriel Barbosa who is already the subject of an offer from Chelsea the Italian club say. 

Now 23 (24 in August) the Brazilian was thought to be a superstar coming out of Brazil and was only a matter of time before he was at the very top. 

Brazilians come to Europe (usually Italy or Portugal) via Italian passports, however, things have not gone to plan for him in Italy since arriving there in 2016.

Gabigol, as he is known, has been loaned out to Benfica in Portugal, Santos and Flamengo back in Brazil.

West Ham United reportedly hold an interest as do Liverpool.

Listen to supporters in Brazil and they tell you he only stands out because of the poor quality of football in Brazil and that he misses the target far too often in the stronger European game.