Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that they attempted to open their cheque book this summer, with a large bid placed for Genoa striker Giovanni Simeone as the transfer deadline approached.

The North London giants were amongst the quietest clubs in English football this summer after having not made a signing of as the transfer window's end approached. The likes of Ricardo Pereira and Thomas Lemar had been linked in recent weeks, but manager Mauricio Pochettino opted to cool their interest as the club are not keen to spend massive sums.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy insisted that the club were not scared of spending big despite their stadium upgrade, and their summer situation was more because of Pochettino, who was comfortable with the options in hand. The Argentine was looking to develop more players from the youth academy rather than dip into the market, and this encouraged the hierarchy to invest more into their upcoming players. With this in mind, tipsters including the guys at biggest freebets were suggesting backing Spurs to make a net profit on transfers from the window

As it turned out, Spurs had a busy last few days trading, with Serge Aurier and Fabio Llorente both pitching up to White Hart Lane and signing deals on deadline day.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Spurs had also tried to line up a bid for Giovanni Simeone, having impressed Pochettino. The 22-year-old, who the son of Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, excelled during his first campaign in the Serie A where he notched up 11 goals in 30 appearances.

As a result, he attracted wide interest from several European clubs with Spurs being the most high-profile of the lot. Pochettino's side lodged a formal enquiry for the player's signature, but it is said that Genoa would demand at least £17m for their leading asset, at which Spurs baulked.

Simeone's former club River Plate are likely to earn a sizeable paycheck as part of a sell-on clause, which was one of the key drivers in pushing the price up further with add-ons with the Serie A club likely to reinvest the money gained on another upcoming prospect.

Spurs have made brilliant use of their scouting system to bring in players such as Dele Alli, and they look to be on the rise despite their lack of spending this summer.