Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank says the club will only pursue players fully committed to joining them after missing out on Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze, who is on the verge of signing for Arsenal.
Eze had been close to sealing a switch to Spurs earlier this week, but Arsenal stepped in with a £67.5m package deal that is now expected to take the 27-year-old to the Emirates.
The England international was left out of Palace’s Europa Conference League victory over Fredrikstad on Thursday, a clear sign of his impending departure.
The collapse of the deal is Tottenham’s second major transfer setback of the summer, after Morgan Gibbs-White chose to extend his stay at Nottingham Forest despite Spurs activating a release clause in his contract.
“In general, I don’t want any players who don’t want to come to this club and wear this fantastic badge,” Frank said on Friday. “We don’t want them here, and I’m sure the fans feel the same.”
Tottenham, who opened their Premier League campaign with a 3-0 win over Burnley, face champions Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday (12:30 BST).
With the transfer window closing on 1 September, Frank stressed that Spurs remain active in the market.
“We are in the market, and we will look to strengthen the team. We have a good squad and good players, but we need to do everything we can to be as competitive as possible. I am confident we will sign a player before the end of the window. Every club wants to sign players as early as possible, but it’s not that easy.”
Frank also confirmed that striker Richarlison, who scored twice against Burnley, will remain at the club despite speculation linking him with a move to Palace in a potential swap deal for Eze.
Meanwhile, Arsenal host Leeds United on Saturday (17:30 BST), with Eze expected to complete his medical in north London over the weekend. Asked about the deal, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said:
“I have nothing to comment. You know I can never talk about a player that’s not part of our group or club yet.”