Ranking Tottenham’s 10 most expensive signings after Mateus Fernandes fee agreed | OneFootball

Tottenham are continuing their summer spending after reportedly agreeing an £85m deal for West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes but their previous expensive signings have not always worked out.

The Portuguese midfielder is a medical away from a move to north London but before Spurs fans celebrate, it is worth remembering how their other big-money moves panned out.

Ahead of his arrival, we’ve ranked the 10 most expensive signings in Spurs’ history. Also worth pointing out that Jan Paul van Hecke is their fifth most expensive but as he has yet to kick a ball for the club, we’ve omitted him.

10. Tanguy Ndombele – £55m

Ndombele is the living embodiment of all the skills, none of the effort as Spurs fans fumed at his lack of work ethic.

Ndombele arrived at Spurs for a club-record fee of £55m but didn’t prove to be worth 10% of that.

His lack of desire was most highlighted by Jose Mourinho who was happy to use the press to tear into this underperforming midfielder.

He eventually left as a free agent in 2024, meaning Spurs suffered a huge loss within just four years.

9. Dominic Solanke – £55m

Nineteen Premier League goals for Bournemouth in 2023-24 was what convinced Tottenham they should part with £55 million, but they really should have looked at his career as a whole rather than his purple patch.

Solanke has never been a clinical striker. Before that breakthrough season, he had never reached double digits in a Premier League campaign. His best tally is 29 in 46 but that came in the Championship.

Is it any surprise then that when he did arrive at Spurs, he struggled for goals?

He did okay in his first year with nine in 27 but injuries and lack of form led to three in 15 last season.

Tottenham look set to go into this season with him as their starting striker once again which will surely prove to be a mistake. As was spending £55m on him.

8. Xavi Simons – £51.8m

When Eberechi Eze rejected Spurs to join Arsenal, the white side of north London went after Simons but the former RB Leipzig player has so far not looked at Premier League level.

He provided just five goals in his 28 Premier League appearances and only scored two, leading to plenty of Spurs fans wondering why they had spent so much money on him.

He did have a brief uptick in form towards the end of the year but a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament saw him miss the end of Spurs’ campaign and the World Cup.

Simons will miss the start of next season and may not be back until 2027.

7. Davinson Sanchez – £42m

Sanchez was a capable defender but just one who seemed to be in the wrong system.

A part of that great Ajax side which reached the Champions League quarter-finals, he struggled to be as effective away from a back three and fell out of favour with a number of managers.

6. Mohammed Kudus – £55m

It is a little hard to judge Kudus’ Spurs career at this stage given just how much time he has spent on the sidelines.

He began brightly with two assists in his first match and contributed six goals in Spurs’ opening 10 games, his output however dipped after that. One goal and one assist from November to early January preceded a lengthy hamstring injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season and the World Cup.

The real test is still to come then with Kudus scheduled to be fit for the start of the new season.

5. Brennan Johnson – £47.5m

The only reason Johnson is this high is because of one goal.

He arrived with a bright reputation from Nottingham Forest, but that potential fizzled out into a whole lot of nothing.

Now at Palace, their fans are seeing how ineffective he is with chances with zero goals in his 26 games for the south London club.

But for Spurs fans, he is the scorer of one of the most important goals in the club’s history as he netted the winner in the Europa League final. Spurs would have probably paid £47.5m for that alone.

4. Richarlison – £50m

Richarlison is by no means one of the Premier League’s most clinical forwards but 32 goals in his 133 Spurs games is not terrible.

The problem with the Brazilian is how streaky he is. He started last year like someone capable of scoring 15+ goals a year but his form tailed off, as it always does.

He’s been decent, just maybe not worth the £50m Spurs paid for him. And his fate-baiting goal celebrations are another matter entirely.

3. Archie Gray – £30m

It was hard not to feel a little sorry for Gray last season who ended up playing in six different positions as more and more of Spurs’ first-choice XI got injured.

Ideally, he would play as a six and with defensive reinforcements this summer, he should get the opportunity to do that.

He is approaching 100 appearances for the club and only just turned 20 so he still has plenty of time to improve and justify his price.

2. James Maddison – £40m

We’ve only seen one season of Maddison in a Spurs shirt given his long-term injury last campaign but his return will be one of the reasons Tottenham fans can feel excited about next year.

At his best, he was one of the league’s best creative players and has been a part of 37 goals in his 78 Tottenham appearances.

He’s 29 and returning from a lengthy injury so there is the question of what kind of player will return but if he is able to get back close to his former level, he will continue to show that the £40m was a good bit of business.

1. Cristian Romero – £42.5m

Romero may have a ceiling but of all the names on this list, he is the one who has most made himself a fixture in the Spurs team.

The Argentine has made 156 appearances for Spurs and for most of them looked like a very capable Premier League defender.

But of course he will be most remembered for his hot-headedness. He’s picked up six red cards since moving to north London and looks set to leave this summer.

Spurs though could have been a lot worse with someone else at the back. For five seasons’ service, £42.5m seems a decent fee.