Deadline Day: Benjamin Stambouli Chose Tottenham Hotspur Over Fiorentina
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Tottenham Hotspur beat Fiorentina to Benjamin Stambouli's signature, the players' agent has confirmed.
Montpellier confirmed a deal had been agreed to take the French midfielder to the Premier League side over the weekend, the sixth signing made by Spurs this summer following the additions of Ben Davies, Michel Vorm, Eric Dier, DeAndre Yedlin and Federico Fazio.
The talented 24 year old is expected to finalise his move to Tottenham before the 11pm deadline on the final day of the summer transfer window after turning down a move to Serie A, according to the player's representative.
"Stambouli preferred Tottenham to Fiorentina," he told Tuttomercatoweb. "Benjamin's first choice was the Premier League and we have received a concrete offer from England.
"Fiorentina's error was wasting too much time to close the deal with Montpellier, about two weeks."
While one player is likely to move to White Hart Lane on the final day of dealings in the transfer window, manager Mauricio Pochettino is expected to undergo a significant streamlining of his squad.
Following spells at seven different clubs during his Tottenham career, Jonathan Obika has finally clinched a move away from north London and joined League One side Swindon Town.
There has been further movement in the club's youth ranks with the news that Tomislav Gomelt and the highly-rated Souleymane Coulibaly have moved to Bari.
Gomelt has joined the Italian Serie B side on a season-long loan deal but Coulibaly – a former golden boot winner at the Under-17 World Cup – has joined the club on a permanent move.
A series of first-team departures are expected to follow on deadline day, with as many of five further players on the brink of leaving Tottenham.
Zeki Fryers and Brazilian midfielder Sandro are both likely to move to Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers respectively after being deemed surplus to requirements, while Andros Townsend continues to be linked with a move to Southampton after manager Ronald Koeman confirmed his interest in the England winger.
Aaron Lennon could be another to depart with the suggestion that Stoke City are interested in a move and Lewis Holtby could complete the deluge of exits by returning to the Bundesliga to sign for Hamburg.
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