Tottenham Hotspur Recruitment Analysis 2025/2026: Fixing Spurs Midfield With Sebastian Nanasi & Bilal El Khannouss – Scout Report

It has been quite a summer at Tottenham Hotspur.

The departure of Ange Postecoglou after winning the Europa League Final has brought mixed emotions.

Optimism returned when Thomas Frank and his staff arrived with a renewed optimism and a different playing style.

The results on the pitch have been encouraging, but the summer transfer window has been less straightforward.

Expectations of a busy transfer market after the arrival of Mohammed Kudus soon gave way to frustration.

Morgan Gibbs-White has chosen to stay at Nottingham Forest, signing a new contract.

Eberechi Eze, who at one stage appeared close to joining Spurs, made a late U-turn that allowed Arsenal to move in.

The pattern of Spurs targets suggests the club has been searching for another central ball carrier.

Thomas Frank wants a player who can work in tight spaces, drive forward and hurt opponents through direct runs, but this raises questions of balance.

Spurs already have several strong carriers in Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, the injured James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr.

What Tottenham lack is a pass-first profile in midfield (further forward).

They need someone to connect the phases of play, but ideally in the final third.

This tactical analysis and scouting report proposes two alternative player profiles, Sebastian Nanasi and Bilal El Khannouss, who can carry the ball when required but prefer to pass.

The recruitment analysis will assess their ability to play in central midfield, particularly on the right side, or as a ten.

It will also weigh the wider pros and cons of building around ball carriers compared with pass-first players.

Eberechi Eze Player Profile

First, well take a quick glance at Eberechi Ezes player profile to see what traits Tottenham were trying to gain in signing Eze.

The left-winger/left-sided attacking midfielder accumulated a ton of minutes for Crystal Palace last season, playing a key role in their FA Cup-winning season.

Eberechi Eze Stats

Focusing mainly on Ezes attacking (yellow) and possession (pink) metrics, we can see that he primarily offers his team chance creation and threat.

For Ezes attacking metrics, he ranks very highly in shot volume, goal contribution and xG contribution, while also sitting above average in dribbles per 90.

Meanwhile, he gets involve