Daniel Levy is ‘willing to meet’ Callum Wilson’s wage demands but is unable to sign the AFC Bournemouth striker due to Tottenham Hotspur first needing to sell before they can buy, according to the Express.
Wilson is one of the attacking options under consideration in north London this summer as Spurs Chairman Levy plots alongside boss Jose Mourinho how best the pair can strengthen the Portuguese tactician’s first-team to secure their return to the top-four.
Spurs ended the 2019/20 campaign in sixth-place and seven-points shy of Chelsea in the lowest Champions League qualifying spot, having struggled for goals beyond Harry Kane (18), Heung-Min Son (11) and Dele Alli (8).
Part of the issue at Tottenham is that the club are yet to replace Fernando Llorente a year on from his release, but could solve the long-standing subject with the acquisition of Wilson following Bournemouth’s relegation.
The Cherries are demanding a fee in excess of £20million for the four-time England international, now said to be as much as £30m, which Spurs are yet to be able to afford due to the north London side first needing to offload those deemed surplus to requirements.
Wilson is not expected to present any hurdles should Spurs step up their interest, after reportedly informing his teammates that he wishes to join a Premier League side this summer to help secure himself a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for next year’s UEFA European Championship.
His £75,000-per-week wage demands are also not expected to be a challenge for Spurs to match, as Levy is understood to be willing to pay the 28-year-old what he wants in order to edge out rival interest from Newcastle United.
Steve Bruce’s Magpies were the favourites to sign Wilson but have been priced out of a deal, as the Toon cannot offer him £75k-p/w or meet Bournemouth’s £30m valuation.
Is Wilson worth £30m and a £75k-p/w contract?
Yes
No
A deal for Wilson at £30m would be an incredible investment by Levy only for the striker to simply be the number two in north London to Kane, so it would be presumed that the Tottenham Chairman will look to drive the price down later in the summer once Tottenham are in a better position to negotiate with Bournemouth.
The Cherries are not in a position where they must sell Wilson due to his £60k-p/w contract not expiring until 2023, but are open to his exit as they look to slash the wage bill on the back of relegation to the second-tier.
If Levy can agree a more reasonable fee, then Wilson will be a great addition to the Spurs first-team given he boasts 41 career Premier League goals and 16 assists from 126 outings, and enjoyed a goal involvement of ten or more in each of his last three campaigns.
Good right