Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a shock summer move for Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who is reportedly surplus to requirements at cash-strapped Arsenal, according to The Sun.
The report suggests the versatile midfielder will be sold to raise transfer funds and Spurs are one of the teams to have shown an interest in purchasing him.
There are a number of reasons this reported transfer is a non-starter and Tottenham should stay well clear of it.
Firstly, any player deemed not good enough to make it at Arsenal clearly is not going to be good enough for Spurs.
Signing Maitland-Niles would not go down well with the Tottenham supporters and regardless of how well he did for Jose Mourinho’s men, he would not be able to shake off his Arsenal origins.
Looking at the current Spurs squad, while reinforcements are needed at full-back and in midfield, Maitland-Niles is certainly no better than the current crop of players and as such would not add the required quality.
Finally, Tottenham would surely be held to ransom by Arsenal over a possible deal and be forced to pay over the odds – The Sun suggest he is valued by his current employers at a ludicrous £30 million.
Funding your arch rivals’ transfer plans by purchasing a player no better than your current fringe men would be an awful move by Spurs.
Needless to say, Maitland-Niles should find a new home with a mid-level Premier League team – not a Tottenham outfit with ambitions of a top-four finish and possible silverware contention in 2020-21.