Tottenham 'outbid rivals' in late push for next transfer after Xavi Simons

Tottenham are winning a bidding war with AC Milan as they look to secure their next transfer after Xavi Simons, according to reports. Earlier this week, the north Londoners confirmed they had signed the Dutchman from RB Leipzig in a deal worth around £51million. They have also been linked with a move for Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji ahead of Monday's deadline.

Akanji looks almost certain to leave the Etihad Stadium before the transfer window slams shut. He is said to be attracting interest from elsewhere with Tottenham among the clubs keen on snapping him up. Milan have also been credited with a desire to land the Swiss defender, who has not played a single minute of Premier League football this season.

Tottenham are leading the race for Akanji, according to Sky Sports in Italy, having submitted an offer in the region of £17.3million. It is said that Milan are only willing to pay around £12.9m, meaning Spurs are in the driving seat as things stand.

It remains to be seen if the Italian giants will change their stance in order to strike a deal, with sporting director Igli Tare recently confirming his desire to bring Akanji to the San Siro.

He said: "This change in formation in the last few days has put us in a bit of trouble. In the next four or five days, we need to try to bring home an experienced player like Akanji. He can play for AC Milan, but it's not easy."

The report adds that Akanji would prefer to stay in the Premier League, which suggests Tottenham would be his most likely destination.

Thomas Frank recently said that he wanted to build a squad capable of competing on all fronts, telling the Daily Mail: "'I want, how can I say this, a big enough, small enough squad.

"It needs to be big enough and robust enough to compete in all four tournaments, because that's important, but I can't have too many players. It's just so difficult to keep everyone happy, it's almost impossible.

"Then we also want to see if we can add enough quality, but we don't want to sign players we don't think can really improve the squad. I would rather wait.

"I'm not here for the short-term fix. I want to build something to last, so we need to think longer term. Yes, we need to compete now, but that's my thought process."

In the event Akanji joins Tottenham before the transfer window closes on Monday, he would become the club's eighth arrival of the summer.

Before welcoming Simons, they signed Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel, Kevin Danso, Luka Vuksovic and Kota Tatai on permanent deals. Joao Palhinha has also joined Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the season.

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