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Yves Bissouma: Brighton Midfielder Completes Medical Ahead of £35m Move To North London

Yves Bissouma has completed Tottenham medical ahead of deal which could rise to £35m; Spurs to pay an initial £25m with £10m in add-ons agreed with Brighton; the 25-year-old is set to become club's third summer signing after the arrivals of Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster

Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma has completed his Tottenham medical ahead of a £35m move to north London.

Spurs will pay an initial £25m for the Mali international, which will potentially rise to £35m with performance-related add-ons.

Bissouma is understood to have flown into the UK on Wednesday and stayed at the on-site hotel at Tottenham's training ground.

The 25-year-old only has one year left on his Brighton contract but is now set to sign a long-term deal at Spurs to become Antonio Conte's third summer signing after goalkeeper Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic joined earlier this month.

Yves Bissouma best PL bits whilst playing for Brighton

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Tottenham are looking to make further signings this summer with the club wanting to add as many as three more players, possibly more.

 

The priorities now are to land a new right wing-back, with Middlesbrough's Djed Spence a leading target, a new left-footed centre-back, and another versatile forward.

 

Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton had been among the other clubs interested in signing Bissouma this summer after Brighton had rejected a bid from Aston Villa for Bissouma in the January transfer window.

 

Tottenham have been watching Bissouma since he played for Lille and he had been on their list of targets to replace Moussa Dembele in 2018.

Bissouma made more tackles and interceptions per 90 than any Tottenham player last season

Image:Bissouma made more tackles and interceptions per 90 than any Spurs player last term

But Spurs ultimately signed Tanguy Ndombele in a club-record deal from Lyon, while Bissouma joined Brighton for around £15m, where he has shone after making 124 appearances for the Seagulls.

Tottenham head coach Conte was particularly impressed by Bissouma following his performances against Spurs last season.

The club still have hopes of landing at least three other players including a new right wing-back, with Middlesbrough's Djed Spence a leading target, a new left-footed centre-back, and another versatile forward.

What should Tottenham do this summer?

Ivan Perisic

Sky Sports football journalist Declan Olley:

It is shaping up to be an exciting summer for Tottenham with the club backing Conte as they look to revamp a squad that can challenge on all fronts next season.

New wing-backs on both the right and left sides will be a priority for the Italian, with those positions fundamental to his tactical system. Despite improvement under Conte, doubts still remain over right wing-backs Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty so a move for Middlesbrough's Djed Spence makes sense following his impressive loan spell at Nottingham Forest.

On the left side, with Sergio Reguilon out of favour and heading towards the exit door, it is no surprise to see Spurs sign Ivan Perisic on a free transfer from Inter Milan to provide experienced competition for Ryan Sessegnon.

The move for the 33-year-old Croatian allows a large chunk of Tottenham's money to be spent on a top-quality centre-back, with Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni appearing to be the early frontrunner for Conte and Paratici. Inter team-mate Milan Skriniar could also be on the shortlist, with the club having held talks with Inter over the Slovakian two years ago, while Villarreal's Pau Torres is another that has previously been linked with Tottenham.

Midfield has been a major issue for Spurs in recent seasons and the club should be looking to sign at least two new midfielders, especially with Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks all set to leave this summer.

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The potential return of Christian Eriksen on a free transfer is a no-brainer and, like Perisic, is cost-effective. But it would be a different story for Southampton's James Ward-Prowse, who would likely prove too expensive, so Conte and Paratici look like they have settled on Brighton's Yves Bissouma.

In attack, the futures of Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura are uncertain, especially the Dutchman who has failed to make an impact since joining from PSV Eindhoven, so Spurs will need to bring in a forward player.

The front three of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski are untouchable right now so ideally the club need to sign a versatile attacker who can fit into any of those positions when called upon.

Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus is certainly the forward Spurs could do with having been linked to the Brazilian, but he is likely to want to leave the Premier League champions to become the star man at another team.

Tottenham's 2022/23 Premier League fixtures

Tottenham will start their 2022/23 Premier League campaign at home to Southampton on August 6 followed by a trip to London rivals Chelsea on August 13.

Antonio Conte's side, who finished fourth last season to qualify for the Champions League, face north London rivals Arsenal at The Emirates on October 1 with the return fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 14.

The first newly-promoted side Tottenham face is Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on August 27 and that is followed by a midweek evening trip to London rivals West Ham on August 30.

Tottenham's final game before the season pauses for the winter World Cup in Qatar will be at home to Leeds on November 12, with Spurs returning to Premier League action on Boxing Day at Brentford.

Tottenham face back-to-back London derbies at home in the second half of the season as they host West Ham on February 18 and then Chelsea on February 25.

Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports

Who will be on the move this summer when the transfer window opens on June 10 and closes at 11pm on September 1?

Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.

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