'All-but ends any chance': David Ornstein says £75m 'superstar' linked with Spurs probably won't be sold now

Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be busy on the transfer front in the coming weeks as manager Ange Postecoglou looks to add more quality to his squad.

Spurs are up and running in the summer window, having signed English wonderkid Archie Gray from Leeds United.

Chances are Tottenham are just getting started, so it will be interesting to see what links emerge in the coming weeks.

With Euro 2024 and the Copa America nearing their respective conclusions, there has been an uptick in worldwide transfer activity.

This has seen certain transfer dominoes fall, but while it does lead to transfer opportunities opening up in some instances, others effectively become closed off.

David Ornstein has now reported that a “superstar” linked with Tottenham is now extremely unlikely to be sold, as his club is in the process of selling a different player.

READ MORE: Nemanja Matic previously said £35m Tottenham target ‘has great potential’

Jarrad Branthwaite likely to stay at Everton amid Tottenham links

The player in question is Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, one of the best young talents in the Premier League.

The Daily Mail reported at the start of July that Tottenham were still monitoring the 21-year-old defender, who is also on the radar of Manchester United.

However, Everton are said to be on the verge of selling Amadou Onana to Aston Villa in a deal reportedly worth £50million.

Ornstein, who broke the news on the Onana to Villa deal, followed up his exclusive by discussing what it would mean regarding Branthwaite’s future.

The Onana move, subject to completion, “all but ends any chance of Everton selling Manchester United target Jarrad Branthwaite this summer”.

Ornstein then reported that, barring any “huge bids” in the Harry Maguire, Wesley Fofana or Josko Gvardiol range – in excess of £75million – Branthwaite will stay at Everton.

Blessing in disguise for Tottenham

Although it may seem disappointing for Spurs that Branthwaite almost certainly won’t be leaving this summer, it’s probably a blessing in disguise.

At present, Tottenham aren’t desperate for new central defenders.

They have a solid first-choice pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, while Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin and Ashley Phillips can also feature.

Tottenham have higher priorities this summer, so there’s very little chance they’d spend £75million-plus on a new centre-back.

Had Branthwaite gone to Man United, that would have been it for Spurs. If he stays, then that big move is yet to happen, and so Spurs could revisit their interest in the next few years.

In that time, Tottenham could potentially get back into the Champions League, which would give them much more pull when it comes to signing “superstar” talents like Branthwaite.