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Tottenham Hotspur have pulled out of the race to sign Youri Tielemans from AS Monaco, per Football Insider.

What’s the word?

Spurs are attempting to secure their first deal since January 2018 this summer, and have been linked with a number of midfielders.

Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele, of Real Betis and Lyon respectively, are both targets, per the report, but an attempt to sign Tielemans has now been all but ruled out.

The central midfielder spent the second half of the season on loan at Leicester City and the Foxes are said to be interested in signing him permanently.

Spurs, though, have been put off by the prospect of paying over £40m for the Belgium international, with Monaco keen to receive a major fee for his services.

Indeed, Football Insider claim that Lo Celso and Ndombele are regarded as higher-quality acquisitions in this transfer window.

Recruitment is right

Tottenham are making the correct decisions here.

Tielemans made an impact during his time at the King Power Stadium – he scored three goals and registered five assists in 13 Premier League games – but his sample size may be too small to convince top clubs.

Ndombele, by comparison, is perhaps the best young midfielder in Europe while Lo Celso is a goalscoring No.10 - netting 16 times last season - who can either replace or provide competition to Christian Eriksen.

Tielemans should be nothing more than a back-up at this stage, should those two deals fall through.

That Spurs aren’t willing to shell out £40m for a sub-par recruit should encourage fans ahead of what is likely to be a busy summer.