Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Al Ahli are about to sign Roger Ibanez, with the Saudi Arabian side getting the trademark ‘here we go’ in a deal for the AS Roma star.

Earlier in the summer, plenty of Italian outlets reported that Spurs had their eye on Ibanez, with Gazzetta dello Sport (15/06/23 via Sport Witness) even claiming that Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto had travelled to London to meet with Tottenham officials regarding the centre-back.

Roger Ibanez

(Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images)

However, the speculation linking the Brazilian with a move to Tottenham subsequently went quiet for a few weeks until it was revived again by Roma Giallorossa on July 25.

The outlet claimed that Spurs were ‘back in the running’ to sign the Serie A defender, who Roma were keen to cash in on, owing to their need to raise some funds in order to comply with FFP rules.

The outlet adds that the Giallorossi initially wanted €30m (£25.7m) for the centre-back, which Tottenham were not willing to pay, but they would now be willing to accept just €25m (£21.4m) for the player.

However, it’s not only Ibanez who appears to have moved beyond the grasp of Tottenham, with Fabrizio Romano also giving his ‘here we go’ to Franck Kessie’s move to Al Ahli too.

Kessie was reportedly a target for the Lilywhites, with Mundo Deportivo even claiming last week that Tottenham had ‘burst into the bidding’ for the Barcelona midfielder. 

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We don’t know just how hard Tottenham pushed for these reported targets, if at all. But what is clear is that the money of Saudi Arabia is adding a new dimension to the transfer market. Clubs like Tottenham cannot compete with the financial packages over there.

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