Bournemouth could have a battle on their hands to keep star midfielder Lewis Cook at Dean Court, with Tottenham believed to be preparing a £30m bid for the 21-year-old. Spurs have been going through an alarming absence from the transfer market this summer, but have been linked with players throughout and there seems to be some weight behind reports that manager Mauricio Pochettino wants Cook before the transfer window slams shut. Cook’s stock has continued to rise since he arrived at Bournemouth in 2016 from Leeds, culminating in him receiving his first – and, to date, only – England cap back in March during the Three Lions’ 1-1 draw with Italy at Wembley. Bournemouth have looked far more assured in the top flight since they arrived there than many thought they really would, and Cook has been a huge part of that. His first season on the south coast was blighted by injury, with a persistent ankle issue keeping him from featuring too much in the Cherries first team. By the time his second season rolled around, however, he racked up the majority of his 35 or so appearances so far, and was clearly one of the most influential figures in Eddie Howe’s team. Being named as a standby player for Gareth Southgate’s World Cup 2018 squad, Cook narrowly missed out on this occasion, with perhaps the lack of international experience hampering him a little.
Should he be able to carry his fine form through the next season or two, though, there will almost certainly be a place in the Three Lions team for him. A move to Tottenham at this stage could, of course, go one of two ways. He could settle straight in, cement his place in the middle of the park and become a Spurs regular, or he may struggle with such high calibre competition and fade away. The latter, it has to be said, is not an outcome any involved parties will want of course – and so he would be given all the tools possible to help him reach that next level and vye for European qualification on an annual basis. It could certainly be a morale-boosting signing for Spurs fans as well – hungry for some new faces.
The price tag may seem a little high, but Bournemouth have done very well indeed to help bring his natural talent to the forefront and offer English football a player who is more than capable of bringing a fresh perspective. They certainly deserve to be well compensated for losing such a talent. People may not blame Cook should he be interested in the move, but they surely wouldn’t blame Bournemouth for perhaps being open to doing business at such a monetary value. This would be their club record sale by some considerable distance (the current record stands at the £12m received for Matt Ritchie’s move to Newcastle in 2016), and that in turn could be reinvested to other areas of the pitch in need of a bit of TLC.
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