Tottenham, West Ham thunder into race for midfielder who’d make or break Spurs title charge

Tottenham and West Ham have joined Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen in courting Turkish midfielder Ismail Yuksek, and his potential January move could make or break Spurs’ title charge, per reports.

Tottenham have begun the campaign in fantastic fashion and victory against Fulham on Monday night will move them back atop the Premier League table.

Whether Spurs are genuine title contenders or just enjoying a fast start remains to be seen. However, with no European football clouding their midweeks, Ange Postecoglou and co can put their full focus on domestic matters.

However, disruption at Tottenham is inevitable in early 2024 when three key players depart for international duty.

Son Heung-min will go for glory with South Korea in the Asia Cup. Elsewhere, Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma will play key roles for Senegal and Mali respectively in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Both tournaments run for roughly a month between mid-January to early February. All three players are regular starters for Tottenham and both Bissouma and Sarr are both central midfielders.

Postecoglou has other options he can turn to in the engine room, such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp. Rodrigo Bentancur has also resumed full training as he edges closer to a comeback after injuring his ACL in February.

However, reports in Turkey now suggest Tottenham could thrust a new signing straight into the action when Sarr and Bissouma are missing.

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Tottenham, West Ham size up Fenerbahce ace

As cited by Sport Witness, it’s revealed Tottenham as well as West Ham will monitor Ismail Yuksek right up until the January window opens.

The 24-year-old is a holding midfielder and plies his trade at club level for Fenerbahce. Yuksek has been in fine form for Fenerbahce this term, helping the club to win nine from nine and sit atop the Turkish Super Lig table thus far.

Serie A champions Napoli and Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen are also casting their eye on Yuksek. Clearly, he’s a player in high demand ahead of what could be a heated battle for his signature in January.

Little else is given away in the report, such as Fenerbahce’s stance on a sale or how much a transfer might cost.

Nonetheless, given he’s a guaranteed starter for Fenerbahce who are sitting top of the table in Turkey, it stands to reason they’ll attempt to resist a sale unless the numbers are too good to ignore.

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