As football fans we’re always looking back on the good times; the moments that made us laugh and cry and the moments we’ll either never forget or do our best to wipe from our memories forever.

But what about the future? What do we have to look forward to? Can we get excited about what’s to come or should we continue to yearn for yesteryear?

As part of our Premier League 25 years celebration this season, we’ve decided to boot up our copy of Football Manager 2018 and simulate 25 years into the future to see what exactly we’ve got to look forward to. And without wanting to wish our lives away, we’re in for a real treat if this is what the future holds.

With one season per article, we’re looking 25 years in to the future. Below we take a look at the 2024/25 campaign…

Previous seasons: 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/2022, 2022/23, 2023/24

Transfer Window

Reigning Premier League champions Arsenal are quiet in the summer window, bringing in 33-year-old Lorenzo Insigne on a free transfer alongside Afonso Sousa from Porto (£12.75m) and AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (£30..5m). In February, 20-year-old Anier Rivas arrives on a free.

Arsenal’s departures include Granit Xhaka to Southampton for £13m and Thiago Almada to Chelsea for £22m.

Up in Manchester, Jose Mourinho is busy plotting Man United’s return to dominance after a season that saw them massively underachieve compared to previous years. However, just three players arrive at Old Trafford in the summer, the biggest one being the £40m capture of AC Milan wonderkid Mohsine Gavioli. The other two are just youngsters who go straight in to the U18s.

Manchester City, still desperate to overtake United as the strongest force in the city, spend £209m across both transfer windows. AC Milan centre-half Augusto Martinez signs for a whopping £75m while Julian Brandt (£52m) and Ruben Dias (£39.5m) are the other high profile arrivals at the Etihad. Out the door goes a handful of youngsters and no one of particular importance. City clearly make a statement early on in 24/25.

Tottenham, as they continue their long-running bid to fully establish themselves as a top four club (they’re failing so far), throw £70m at five new faces; Bordeaux’s Franck Robert is the most expensive arrival at just £22.5m while Almamy Traore joins from Monaco for £18.25m. Serge Aurier is sold to Roma for just £6m, Stefan de Vrij is loaned to Benfica for the season and, after 226 Premier League appearances, centre-half Inigo Martinez leaves New White Hart Lane for Bilbao in a £3.6m switch.

Chelsea also go big in the transfer market. £190m is spent on six players. Yvan Berthier is their most expensive signing as he joins from Saint-Etienne in January for £72m. Former Real Madrid hopeful Achraf signs from AC Milan for £30m. After just 13 Premier League appearance in two seasons, Shkodran Mustafi leaves Stamford Bridge for Villarreal for just £6.5m and Lucas Digne is sold to Bordeaux for £12.5m.

Over at Liverpool, the biggest name coming in to Anfield is Barcelona’s N’Golo Kante who returns to the Premier League in a £10m deal. The biggest name leaving the Reds is a shock one as Lautaro Martinez is allowed to sign for Monaco for just £48.5m – the striker had netted 59 goals in 146 first team appearances during his four seasons at Anfield.

Elsewhere, Victor Wanyama returns to Southampton 10 years after leaving for Tottenham in a £1.4m switch from FC Metz. After leaving Spurs he spent three years in China and then four seasons at Everton before his single year in France. Saints also bring in Marcus Rashford on a free transfer after the 27-year-old’s release from Man United and a 33-year-old free agent Pascal Gross.

The League Campaign

It didn’t take long for Mourinho’s United to return to the top as they completely dominate the season, losing just three games and winning the title by a huge eight points. All that without much investment in the transfer windows, too.

Man City are forced to settle for second once again while Arsenal concede their title with a third placed finish. Chelsea beat Spurs to fourth for second consecutive season and Liverpool are sixth again.

Leicester continue their prominence in the top eight and although Bournemouth are two places worse off than the previous season, they still impress everyone with yet another good season in the top ten.

West Ham finish 10th for a fourth consecutive season. Mid-table mediocrity at its best.

Everton, Newcastle and Southampton are all left disappointed and have to settle for a finish in the bottom half of the table despite hefty investment in the windows.

Ipswich are the only newly-promoted side to survive relegation as Sunderland and Leeds join Middlesbrough in the bottom three.

The title race was over pretty quickly. United had to face Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in their opening four games of the season and won two of them as the Gunners record a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford. Then Mourinho’s men go on a 21 game unbeaten streak, 19 of which were wins. That run is ended by a shock 2-0 defeat away at Stoke in February and United only lose again on the final day, but the title is obviously all wrapped up weeks before Leicester record a 1-0 win.

It was the race for fourth and the relegation battle that had to provide much of the entertainment instead, and both failed to disappoint.

Spurs looked dead and buried in their hopes of taking fourth when they went seven games without a win between November and December, a run that included three consecutive defeats to Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. But they rallied to lose just once between the end of January and the beginning of May, including a 1-0 win over Chelsea, before Southampton stopped them in their tracks with a 1-0 victory at St. Mary’s.

That defeat handed Chelsea the initiative once again. The Blues had a stop-start season and only drew two games throughout, either winning or losing the rest of their fixtures. Back-t0-back defeats to Spurs and Man City in April looked to have ended their top four hopes but on the same weekend Spurs lost to Southampton, the Blues ground out a 1-0 home win over Stoke to give them another five point advantage over Spurs going in to the final two weekends. Both teams won their remaining games.

Down at the bottom and while Leeds were comfortably relegated, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Ipswich and Crystal Palace all played out a battle to stay in the Premier League.

In the end, Ipswich can consider themselves extremely lucky. They lost all four of their remaining league fixtures, a run-in that included a trip to Anfield sandwiched between home games against Man United and Chelsea. They were expected to drop.

But Boro could only muster two points from their final four games, three of which were away from the Riverside, and Sunderland couldn’t save themselves either in a run-in that included games with Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Here’s how the season looked as far as team records are concerned…

End of Season Awards

One of West Ham’s summer signings – the £25.5m capture of Augsberg youngster Felix Bremser – goes on to claim the Premier League Golden Boot with 18 goals from 33 league appearances.

Hammers fans are seen dancing in the streets in celebration after finally seeing a striker score regularly for them.

Man City’s Pietro Pellegri comes in just behind Bremser with 16 goals, as does Ipswich’s Jhon Miranda and Harry Kane. Dybala nets 15 to take his Man United tally to an impressive 116 Premier League goals in 247 appearances. Pellegri’s City record is even more impressive, though – 76 goals in 117 league appearances.

Harry Kane’s return of 16 goals sees him take his Premier League goal haul to 213. At 31-years-old it’s fully expected that he will eventually break Alan Shearer’s record of 260, but will he?

Arsenal’s Naby Keita tops the assist charts with 13, one ahead of Spurs’ new signing Franck Robert.

David De Gea wins the fifth Golden Glove Award of his career with an impressive 18 clean sheets as United romped to the title – runner-up Jack Butland could only keep 12 clean sheets for Man City.

The Premier League Player of the Year is awarded to Man United’s Paulo Dybala for the third time in the Argentine’s career, thanks to his return of 15 goals and 10 assists from 31 league appearances.

Manager of the Year is, once again, Jose Mourinho – for the eighth time in his career. He needs just three more to match Sir Alex Ferguson’s record.

There are a number of familiar faces in the Premier League Team of the Season, but there is a welcome appearance from West Ham’s Golden Boot winner Bremser.

It’s worth noting that before the season started, Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from the game. The Portuguese legend netted a career total 506 league goals in 706 league appearances for three different clubs over a 25-year career.

Lionel Messi, on the other hand, is still going strong at 37-years-old and scores 21 La Liga goals to take his career league goal haul to 498 in 671.

Manager Movements

On August 1st t Garry Monk resigned as manager of Crystal Palace before being named as the new England manager a month later – Palace replace Monk with former Wolves boss Vedran Corluka. England, by the way, are the current World Champions. Yes, that’s right. Gareth Southgate led England to the 2022 World Cup!

Anyway, the first sacking of the season comes at the beginning of November when Tim Sherwood is relieved of his duties at Southampton and is replaced by Patrick Vieira. Everton’s Jorge Sampaoli loses the Everton dressing room and is also sacked in the same month, being replaced by Middlesbrough’s Paulo Sousa. Boro replace him with Sampaoli.

A poor run of results after Christmas leads to West Ham sacking Paul Heckingbottom and replacing him with Sunderland’s Anthony Gerrard. Sunderland appoint Alex Neil as his replacement.

In other managerial news at the end of the 24/25 season, Kasper Schmeichel is the manager of Tranmere Rovers, Joey Barton is in the Mansfield hotseat, Emmanuel Adebayor is in charge at Aston Villa, Albert Adomah is at Brighton, Francis Jeffers has popped up out of nowhere to take the top job at Cardiff, Phil Neville is at Millwall, Graziano Pelle replaced Gary Neville at Reading and Wayne Rooney is at League One Lincoln.

What to expect next season?

Once again, everyone will be looking to knock Man United off their perch. They’ve now won 26 Premier League titles and Jose Mourinho has six of them. Can Arsenal return and win it again, or can Man City finally snatch the league off their neighbours?

What about Tottenham? Can they finally beat Chelsea to fourth spot? Will Liverpool ever get back in to the Champions League via a top four finish?

West Ham – will they ever break away from the shackles of 10th, or will they succumb to mid-table mediocrity and remain there forever more?

And how will Patrick Vieira get on with management in the Premier League at Southampton?

Newly promoted sides Millwall (yes, Millwall came up as Championship champions), Burnley and West Brom will only have survival on their wish list. How many riots will there be in Stratford when Millwall visit West Ham?

The 25/26 Premier League season is going to be an interesting one.

2024/2025 Overview

Premier League Champions: Man United

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Champions League qualification: Man United, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham

Europa League qualification: Tottenham, Liverpool and Bournemouth

Relegated to Championship: Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Leeds

Promoted to Premier League: Millwall, Burnley and West Brom

Community Shield Winners: Arsenal

FA Cup Winners: Arsenal

Carabao Cup Winners: Bournemouth

UEFA Super Cup Winners: PSG

Club World Championship: Arsenal

Champions League Winners: Arsenal

Europa League Winners: Tottenham

So despite Arsenal failing to retain the Premier League, they do win a second consecutive Champions League title and add the Community Shield, FA Cup and Club World Championship to their trophy cabinet. Pep Guardiola is fast becoming a legend at the Emirates.

Bournemouth secured their place in next season’s Europa League with an emphatic 2-0 Carabao Cup final victory over Man City, but amazingly could’ve made it in to the Champions League.

That’s because the Cherries defied all odds to reach to the Europa League final but unfortunately fell to a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham in Rotterdam. It was Spurs’ third consecutive Europa League final appearance and they were finally able to lift the trophy having lost their previous two finals. Spurs finally return to the Champions League.

<< Click here for the 23/24 season | 25/26 season coming soon!

Newcastle United took a massive step towards English Premier League safety on Saturday after a 1-0 win at home to Huddersfield Town.

Needing a victory to ensure they don’t get drawn further into a relegation battle, Rafa Benitez’s side produced the goods thanks to a late goal from Ayoze Perez.

The Magpies ended the day seven points clear of 18th placed Southampton, with five teams separating the two sides. With just seven games remaining that gives them a healthy enough cushion that should be enough to ensure they don’t drop down the Championship.

Fans were delighted with the win and singled one individual out for particular praise – midfielder Mohamed Diame.

The 30-year-old wasn’t the most popular figure with Newcastle supporters earlier in the season after a number of poor performances but he’s been one of their most important players in recent months and performed excellently against Huddersfield, the driving force in the middle of the park.

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his display…

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As reported by The Mirror, West Ham are interested in signing Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes this summer.

What’s the story?

With the Hammers fans having to endure another difficult season, manager David Moyes is expected to make significant changes to the first team squad at the London Stadium if he stays on as manager.

One player that could be on his way is Barcelona man Andre Gomes.

That’s according to The Mirror, who say the player is open to a move to the Premier League but that West Ham face competition from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for his signature.

Rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, can the Irons convince him his future is with them?

A good addition?

Andre Gomes is a player on the fringes of the Barcelona first team this season, although is apparently a valued member of the squad, getting plenty of action from the bench with 30 appearances in total.

With close to 200 appearances between spells at Barca, Valencia and Benfica, it’s clear he is a player of quality that would likely add class and composure to the middle of the park at the London Stadium.

It’s the kind of elite experience that doesn’t usually find its way to the West Ham United first team.

As you’d expect from a Barcelona player he has excellent technical passing ability and a football intelligence that could add a new dimension to their midfield play.

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If he’s available this summer then he’s someone the Hammers should be pursuing.

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As reported by The Daily Mirror, Celtic are interested in signing Arsenal goalkeeping prospect Arthur Okonkwo this summer.

What’s the story?

Celtic have found success in recent seasons bringing the likes of Olivier Ntcham, Patrick Roberts and Dedryck Boyata to Glasgow from the fringes of the Manchester City squad, and other clubs in the Premier League have an abundance of talent not quite at first team level who can become important players for the Hoops.

One player with significant talent that could make the switch to Glasgow this summer is Arthur Okonkwo.

That’s according to The Daily Mirror, who say the 16-year-old goalkeeper could leave Arsenal after reaching a contract stalemate at the Emirates.

The paper say that the Hoops and RB Leipzig are both targeting the youngster as a result and could land him on a free transfer.

Who is he?

Despite being just 16 years of age, Okonkwo is already 6ft 5in tall and is regarded as one of Arsenal’s best prospects with The Mirror reporting he is expected to push into the Gunners’ senior squad over the next two years.

The youngster has already trained with the first team and having also won youth international caps with England, is clearly regarded as a player with significant potential.

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Craig Gordon is still number one at Celtic Park and a teenager is unlikely to replace him immediately, but with the Scotland international coming towards the end of his career, could Okonkwo be a valid long-term replacement?

On a free transfer, it’s a risk-free move and the youngster could be the latest to find success in Glasgow moving from the fringes of one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

Mauricio Pochettino’s principled approach towards the team spirit of his Tottenham squad has seen Toby Alderweireld marginalised almost completely this season, despite being arguably the most talented centre-half in the Premier League.

Losing out in big matches such as the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United with a top, experienced defender on the bench must be galling for some Spurs fans and they need a signing this summer to make a clear move on from the Belgian international.

One man who has been linked with North London to ease the situation is Matthijs de Ligt, the Dutch international centre-half who currently turns out for Alderweireld’s old club Ajax – where Davinson Sanchez, Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen all also emerged from.

So; we’re asking you whether the man valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt is a good fit for Pochettino’s men? Let us know by voting in the poll below and keep your eyes peeled for the results in the coming days…

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has stated that he will welcome back Alexis Sanchez for the trip to West Ham, where a point will seal second place in the Premier League – as per the club’s official website.

After a lifeless performance against Brighton on Friday, Mourinho will be hoping that the reintroduction of Sanchez increases United’s attacking vigour against the Hammers.

What’s the latest, then?

Speaking before the trip to the London Stadium for United’s final away engagement of the current campaign, Mourinho said that Sanchez, along with England international defender Phil Jones, will return from injury.

He said: “In terms of injuries, it’s Lukaku and Fellaini. They are the two players who are not available for [Thursday]. Jones is back, Sanchez is back and there are no more problems.”

Sanchez started United’s most recent home league game, against Arsenal, but was ruled out of the trip to Brighton – which saw Mourinho’s men suffer a 1-0 defeat.

Sanchez brings energy that Martial failed to provide

Both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial got the nod against the Seagulls but both flattered to deceive; starved of meaningful service and unable to take their rare chances when they did come.

Rashford’s quality was lacking but Martial is beginning to bear the hallmarks of a man who knows he has slipped too far down the pecking order.

On the other hand, Sanchez’s recent performances against North London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal hinted at a man who has got into his groove at Old Trafford and if he can provide that again against another side from the capital in David Moyes’ Irons, Mourinho will be hopeful of securing the result he needs to clinch the runners-up spot.

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There aren’t too many elements of Arsene Wenger’s reign at Arsenal; specifically the way his teams changed from being physical, athletic sides to diminutive, technical outfits, in a microcosm than his faith in Santi Cazorla as a defensive midfielder. The Spaniard, valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, is a wonderful technical talent but he is not robust enough for the demands of being a holding player in the Premier League. He has struggled with injury problems throughout the past two seasons, however, and that has undoubtedly hampered Wenger’s plans – especially if he was played further forward. He also remains a hugely popular player among the club’s fans and with his team-mates so the news that he will not play again this season was disappointing. Nevertheless, Gunners supporters want to see him given another season at the Emirates Stadium to prove his fitness, this time to a new man in charge… https://twitter.com/jimathy12/status/993768984569933825 https://twitter.com/Asuzu89/status/993768088205217792 https://twitter.com/sayhelloflo/status/993772111641575424 https://twitter.com/Anonymous1076/status/993780861416898561 https://twitter.com/John06902890/status/993790002546008064 https://twitter.com/Chris87NE1/status/993840338270814209 [ad_pod ]

As reported by The Sun, Jose Mourinho will axe a host of first team squad members this summer as he looks to improve on a trophy-less season at Manchester United.

What’s the story?

This weekend’s FA Cup Final against Chelsea was United’s last chance to win silverware this season and they fell short. As a result, there is likely to be a period of serious soul searching for the club and their supporters as they try to figure out a way forward next season.

For Jose Mourinho it means selling a number of first team squad members this summer, to fund another foray into the transfer market.

The Sun report that Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind and Anthony Martial are all set for summer exits, generating more than £100m in cash.

The paper say that the club will look to sell Martial for £70m alone.

The report also states that Mourinho will be allowed to re-invest money made from player sales directly back into first team signings.

Will a transfer revolution pay off?

There’s no doubt that the pressure for Jose Mourinho to succeed next season will now be massive.

After a trophy-less season at Old Trafford, unrest is again growing about where the club are headed, especially with supporters not exactly being enamoured with the style of football Mourinho deploys.

They need a strong summer transfer window and while selling squad members he doesn’t rate is within his rights, it’ll be seen as a risk letting go of the likes of Anthony Martial, who remains popular with fans.

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Everyone connected with the club will be hoping that this summer will be the one the Portuguese finally figures out the United puzzle, or it could be a dicey campaign next term.

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“Sheikh Mansour went to Spain in a Lamborghini, brought us back a manager, Manuel Pellegrini.”

That was the chant that used to ring out across the Etihad on a weekly basis from Manchester City fans for their former gaffer and it was a chant that only intensified in noise and meaning as the Chilean guided the Blues to a Premier League title in his first season in charge. Let’s not forget too – because for some reason it has been largely forgotten – that it was a title won in some considerable style with a team that put six past Arsenal, six past Spurs and four against Manchester United. All told there were 102 goals scored in the league alone that year, just four less than Guardiola’s all-conquering team managed this term.

Why then is the 64-year-old not regarded in the highest esteem by the City fan-base? After all, as introductory seasons go that’s as spectacular as it gets surely? It’s certainly enough to place him on the same plateau of affection that Roberto Mancini and Pep Guardiola are held – his predecessor and successor who also brought in league championships – yet instead a manager who inhabited the dug-out for a third of City’s post-takeover era elicits mostly apathy. Yes there remains a fair few who didn’t rate him and who have stuck to their guns on that, and yes a few more openly admired him. But in comparison to his direct peers Pellegrini is afforded no extremes. He was a stop-gap. A caretaker.

So what the hell happened in the following two years to diminish a standing that was destined for legendary status? There are no easy answers to that. In fact things are going to get a little muddled from here on in.

 This week Pellegrini has signed a three-year contract to take charge at the London Stadium and West Ham supporters are rightfully viewing this as a significant coup. They’re excited because they know the basics about his style of management. They know too about his achievements and how they were achieved.

When he joined City back in the summer of 2013 that was pretty much the summation of our knowledge also, minus of course his relative success in England that was still to come. For those ignorant to his impressive track record in South America and then beyond, the La Liga buffs in the ranks soon caught the rest up to his staggering work at Villarreal, where he briefly broke up the Real Madrid/Barcelona duopoly with a second place finish, and his guiding of Malaga to an unprecedented Champions League spot. Once that was established we were informed of two facts: that he favoured attacking, attractive football and that his nickname was the ‘Engineer’ due to his methodical, esoteric studying of the game. Only one of these turned out to be fitting.

During that 2013/14 season Yaya Toure was little short of magnificent and bossed every midfield alongside new signing Fernandinho who settled immediately. Up front Alvaro Negredo enjoyed a stonking debut campaign and with Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko scoring for fun opponents were often swept aside in swashbuckling fashion. It was a blast and better yet Pellegrini was proving himself to be a welcome antidote to Mancini whose histrionics and divisive ways rankled at the end. By contrast the Chilean was unfailingly courteous and pleasant: a gentleman no less. A word of warning is due here though to Hammers everywhere because that pleasantry led to some seriously dull pressers. When placed under the media glare Pellegrini could send a hyperactive kitten to sleep.

That though was a very small price to pay and the second season was entered into with a huge dollop of optimism and this even after a compromising transfer window that disappointed at the time and greatly disappointed thereafter.

It was buoyancy that swiftly foundered because Toure had become mortal yet Pellegrini insisted on sticking with a two man midfield that not only exposed the Ivorian but in doing so exposed the defence behind him. On the rare occasions when a three-man midfield was employed City invariably looked in much better shape but Pellergini – in a similar manner to Sven Goran-Eriksson – seemed to have one set-up that he favoured and a severe reluctance to change it even when it was costly. Was this down to an intractable nature? Or was he limited? Doubts set in.

It was doubts that began towards the end of the previous season. In Munich in the last game of City’s Champions League group commitments a fourth goal against Bayern would have put the Blues top and thus avoiding a dangerous seed in the last 16. Instead – bafflingly – City played a final half hour negating their hosts with the entire coaching staff unaware that finishing top was possible.

As bizarre a sentence as this is to write it’s also one that happens to be true in this instance. An ‘Engineer’ – who reportedly spent every waking hour studying his opponents down to the finest detail – couldn’t count.

That second season was the very definition of a damp squib and consequently the song still chimed out but with notably less enthusiasm. City finished runners-up in the league. They exited the Champions League at the final 16 stage having been drawn with Barcelona.

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The third season started brightly but soon reverted to what was now becoming type. On their day City could be imperious and wonderful to watch but with the complete absence of a plan B they unravelled before sides who had sussed them out. In November a wide-open formation against Liverpool had fans fearing the worst before the opening whistle and those fears swiftly manifested itself in a 4-1 drubbing with Jurgen Klopp coming out of it looking like a genius. He wasn’t. He simply set his side up as he always did and Pellegrini refused to compromise despite it clearly amounting to suicide.

That February it was officially announced that Pep Guardiola would be arriving at the season’s end and that was that for Manuel. It says something quite pertinent that his players stopped playing for him from that juncture onwards while the fans stopped caring enough even to resent him for his one-dimensional management. He departed to a half-empty stadium after the final home game. In truth he deserved better than that.

West Ham have every reason to be excited by their new appointment. His principles are sound and their array of attacking talent will flourish from the freedom he will afford them. But if things go awry don’t expect any tough decisions or changes made. The Engineer will just keep chug, chug, chugging on; a little bit lost but always unfailingly nice.

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According to The Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon in this summer’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

Rondon will leave West Brom this summer following his club’s relegation to the Championship.

The centre-forward has not been short of interest, with West Ham United and Chelsea among those to be linked with a move since the transfer window opened for business.

According to The Mirror, Tottenham are also very much in the hunt, with the London club ready to pay Rondon’s £16m release clause in order to complete a deal ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

West Brom did not exactly enjoy a successful 2017-18 season as they were relegated from the Premier League, but Rondon once again showed that he can operate at the top level.

Why does the deal make sense for Tottenham?

At £16m, the deal is an absolute no-brainer for Tottenham.

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Rondon will not turn 29 until the new Premier League season has started, and he managed 10 goals in 40 appearances for West Brom last season despite their struggles.

The Venezuela international netted seven Premier League goals in 36 appearances, meanwhile, and there is every reason to believe that he would improve that tally playing alongside better players.

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Fernando Llorente has struggled as the supporting act for Harry Kane at Tottenham, but Rondon would be the perfect foil for the England international in the final third of the field.

Rondon would also allow Tottenham to adopt a different approach – particularly away from home – and as mentioned above, for £16m, Spurs should get the deal done as soon as possible.