Tottenham Target 'Next N'Golo Kanté' in Young Midfield Talent Ousmane Diabate

Tottenham are now being linked with young midfielder Ousmane Diabate, a defensive midfielder compared to N'Golo Kanté, as their third summer signing.

According to TeamTalk, Tottenham are eyeing 18-year-old Ousmane Diabate, a defensive midfielder currently with Turkish SuperLig side Genclerbirligi. The youngster broke into the first team last season, making four league appearances, but has been impressing in the youth ranks.

The Guinea senior international has been compared to N'Golo Kanté by some, according to the report. This comparison is likely due to Diabate's defensive prowess and ability to control the tempo of the game.

Spurs have already put together a record spend this window, splashing out more than £235million, with Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes, and Sandro Tonali taking up the bulk of that spending. Roberto De Zerbi is being handed a huge budget, but it will come with the expectation of leading Spurs into Europe next season.

Under Profit and Sustainability rules, clubs are rarely able to keep up hundreds of millions worth of spending summer after summer. It's for that reason why young recruitment is a wise move, as we have seen with Tottenham's rivals Chelsea. At Chelsea, they have signed young players they can develop, and even if they end up selling those players, they contribute to the profit equation of PSR in a major way.

A move within the next 12 months is said to be likely, even if it doesn't come this summer. It's claimed the player's contract allows for a cheap deal, at least by Premier League standards. But Diabate will want to play, and it will be interesting to see which of the Premier League clubs can convince the youngster of whatever path they are offering to their first team.

Summers like this one highlight why Spurs are going to need to keep recruiting young. Under Profit and Sustainability rules, clubs are rarely able to keep up hundreds of millions worth of spending summer after summer. It's for that reason why young recruitment is a wise move, as we have seen with Tottenham's rivals Chelsea.

The category for this article is: transfer.