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Tottenham will slash the asking price of a star who “needs to leave” in order to ensure suitors like Everton and Aston Villa aren’t dissuaded from pursuing a deal, according to an ex-Spurs player.

Nuno Espirito Santo was faced with an unenviable task upon taking the reins at Tottenham. Most clubs have the players who will be their starters in central midfield set in stone. However, the Portuguese manager was faced with a series of difficult decisions regarding his crop of stars.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is an obvious selection. However, whether to persevere with Tanguy Ndombele after his exit plea was not so straightforward. Indeed, bringing the best out of Ndombele has proven a difficult task for previous managers.

Oliver Skipp has featured regularly after impressing in pre-season, though his emergence has pushed Harry Winks down the pecking order.

The homegrown Spurs star, 25, was reportedly available for transfer this summer. But with a hefty £40m price tag, interested parties the likes of Everton and Aston Villa were dissuaded from pushing through a move.

Winks has been afforded just 60 minutes in the league this season, and former Spurs stopper Paul Robinson believes it’s time he experienced a new challenge.

But in order to do so, Tottenham must first slash their demands – something Robinson expects will happen.

“Winks needs a break,” said Robinson (via Football Insider). “He needs to go to a club week in, week out. If Nuno does not have him as a big part of his plans then he needs to leave and play regularly. Wherever that may be.

“He is a player that I rate very, very highly. I think he gets into most other Premier League teams.

“Winks is never injured, he is always available and is capable of producing seven, eight out of 10 performances on a weekly basis when he is given a run of games.

“Let’s be honest, £40million is a lot for a player that isn’t getting a game. A player is only worth what another club is willing to pay.

“I think that price tag will drop significantly because there was obviously no willing buyers at that price in the summer.”

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Meanwhile, a striker who went one better than Erling Haaland in the Bundesliga last season has been touted as the perfect Tottenham replacement for Harry Kane.

Kane, 28, made no secret of his desire to seek a fresh challenge this summer. The England captain sought a move to Man City in the hopes of adding silverware to his impressive goalscoring statistics.

Man City’s pursuit would ultimately end in defeat, much to Pep Guardiola’s dismay when bemoaning “big master” Daniel Levy.

Kane remains in North London for now. But few would be surprised to see links with a move away emerge once again next summer.

As such, Football London highlight another striker who could fill a Kane-shaped hole. RB Leipzig’s Andre Silva is touted as a ‘great option’ and their article delves into his underlying statistics.

Firstly, Silva remarkably outscored Dortmund hitman Haaland with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last year. The Norwegian bagged 27 strikes with Silva notching 28 – though admittedly in four more matches.

The outlet followed that basic stat up with a series of other, more in-depth figures that point towards Silva being a potentially lucrative option.

READ MORE: Tottenham fears realised as title winners move to secure Nuno favourite

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