Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a fresh setback in their search for attacking reinforcements after reports emerged that Ismael Saibari is fully committed to joining Bayern Munich this summer, with the German club said to have made significant progress on personal terms.
Saibari was central to PSV Eindhoven’s title-winning campaign last season, producing 19 goals and nine assists in 37 games under Petr Bosz and earning a place in Morocco’s World Cup squad. PSV are understood to want around €60million for the attacker — a figure that sets the financial frame for any negotiations.
The timing sharpens the problem for Tottenham. Spurs began scouting Saibari in January 2025 as they sought a new creative midfielder and additional forwards ahead of the coming season. The club have already moved in the market this summer, signing Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi as free agents, and remain in talks with Manchester City over Savinho; but they will start the season without Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert after both suffered ACL ruptures, leaving James Maddison as a potential stand-in at No.10 if a new playmaker does not arrive.
The transfer picture is complicated on several fronts. German journalist Florian Plettenberg has warned that the Saibari move to Bayern is more complicated than the recent Nathaniel Brown deal and that there is still work to do, though he added that clubs have made progress in talks over the transfer fee. Plettenberg also stressed that Bayern have clear financial limits and that the pursuit is driven by head coach Vincent Kompany, who very much wants Saibari in his squad.
The friction is straightforward: Tottenham have watched Saibari since January, but reports say the player himself prefers a move to Bayern. That preference undercuts Spurs’ long-term scouting and places the club in the familiar position of bidding against a rival for a player who sees a different destination as his first choice.
What remains unresolved is whether Bayern and PSV can bridge the financial gap. Plettenberg’s comments indicate progress on fee discussions, but also underline limits on how far Bayern will go. PSV’s circa-€60million valuation is the anchor; whether Bayern can meet it without exceeding internal thresholds — and whether PSV will accept less — will decide whether Spurs have any realistic chance of re-entering the race.
For Tottenham the immediate consequence is practical: a forward target they tracked for months looks likely to be off the market to them if personal preference and negotiations tilt toward Munich. For Saibari, the move would be a step from Eredivisie title-winner to one of Europe’s biggest clubs, a transition that PSV and Bayern must still agree on before any announcement.
The next move belongs to the clubs. Bayern must reconcile Kompany’s interest with the financial limits Plettenberg described, and PSV must judge whether the offers on the table match their valuation. Until a fee is struck, Tottenham’s setback will remain a developing story — and the transfer will turn on a single, concrete question: can Bayern meet PSV’s price without breaching the boundaries the club has set for itself?
