Clearout
Tottenham’s summer so far has focused on getting rid of the many mistakes made in previous transfer windows. Levy has done a good job in this respect. Who would have thought we would get £10 million for Paulinho? There’s still work to be done – Adebayor and Soldado should be next on the list.
The clear-out is vital. Having so many players hanging around, with little to no chance of making the match day squad, can’t have helped the atmosphere at White Hart Lane.
Upgrading the defence
In a similar vein to last summer, Pochettino has bought relatively cheap squad players to plug into the defence. Last season’s problems on the right side were obvious, so a backup right back was an essential addition. Trippier isn’t a big name player but looks a promising understudy for Walker. It’s a very similar signing to Davies last year.
Toby Alderweireld may have been the most obvious transfer target in history. Chemistry is the most important attribute for a centre back pairing and Alderweireld has played with Vertonghen both at Ajax and for Belgium. He is mobile and fast, fitting well into Pochettino’s style of play, while the fact that he has Premier League experience is a massive bonus.
Missing an anchor in the middle
There’s still a big hole in our midfield. For all their success last season, Bentaleb and Mason need someone with experience and character to dominate the opposition. The latest rumours suggest Sven Bender may be a target. The Dortmund man is exactly what we need – a holding midfielder, used to an aggressive pressing style, with experience of winning titles and playing in the Champions League.
Going forward
What is truly baffling is Levy’s reluctance to sign an attacking player. Spurs haven’t bought a striker, winger or creative midfield player since Erik Lamela almost two years ago.
We’re crying out for a backup for Harry Kane. He can’t play every game and we must at least plan for the possibility the young forward has a difficult second season.
A true wide player with some pace would help unlock stubborn defences, while an understudy to Christian Eriksen would allow Pochettino to give him the odd game off. The Dane looked exhausted in the latter stages of last season.
Big signing
After a two year drought since that heady summer when we had £100 million to play with, Tottenham haven’t made a “marquee” signing. No big name, no exotic playmaker. Those kind of signings used to be one of the things that defined Spurs – Villa, Ardiles, Gascoigne, Klinsman.
Ultimately football is about entertainment and one of the greatest pleasures in the game is the anticipation of seeing a new star take the field for the first time. Regretfully, it seems that disastrous summer two years ago has left an enduring mark on the Tottenham chairman.
What do you think of Spurs transfer window so far? Who should we sign? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
yes I have been waiting for two seasons now to see abig name.I think Javier Hernandez is a name that inspire us when the deal is done.the spurs squad always look good just to see a surprise defeat,I need good signings that can make us win some trophies.
Hernandez is a possibility. I’m struggling to think of options but hopefully the new head of recruitment has some left-field suggestions up his sleeve.
Levy has balanced the books for the last six years selling 5million pound English players to buy 5million pound foreign imports that end up being bombed.if not the players then the manager.lamela and soldado for 57mill combined with no end product no goals would be enough to get baldini his p45 and a taxi home,every player that becomes world class has been sold bale and Luke this does not look good for eriksen Kane lloris and bentaleb,all in all if we had backed Harry in the January transfer window 2012 when we signed 2freebies instead of kicking on and adding a world class forward we would not have had to pray that Chelsea lost the final.go out and get nangollen or witsel and berhino with marelles as a wide player or back up for a forward chuck bolasie in as well and offer these teams any no of our subs+cash and I think we could go pretty close coys forever
Berahino and Mirallas would definitely add a bit of pace and creativity to the team.
Levy never spends the money required to push Spurs forward. We are very short of attacking talent and Erikson aside we have no flair in the team. Ryan Mason and benteleb are no where near good enough.
I think Bentaleb is close but needs an experienced hand next to him to learn from.
When are we going to get a good new striker if not two? We need at least one badly…
We desperately need to get Adebayor and Soldado off the payroll and get someone new to take the load off Kane. We very rarely buy strikers though.
I like our business so far this window. I’d like to see Yarmolenko come on up front. He can play anywhere across the front four and would give Lamela decent competition on the left. Then I’d like us to sign a quality DM- probably an unknown gem such as Mitchell has unearthed at Southampton. I’d be happy with our squad after that. If you sign too many players it disrupts the harmony of the squad.
Yarmolenko is a good shout. I see we’ve played Dier in CM in some pre-season games!
I’m worried United will run rings around him next week, especially with us playing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
I really hope Dier doesn’t play in DM at all this season. I get that Poch wants to accommodate him in order to continue his development but if he’s not in the first choice CB pairing then sorry mate it’s Carling Cup and Europa for you this season. Maybe, just maybe he’d get the 3rd CB spot in a back 3 although Sergeant Major Wimmer probably would get my vote.
Happy with the defensive additions although it might take some time for them to gel so don’t be surprised if we continue to cack our pants and concede every time someone attacks us in the first few games this season.
In Kane, Eriksen, Dembele, Chadli, Lamela, Pritchard, Walker, Rose, Townsend, Alli, and so on we do have players that can cause damage in the final third but yeah probably not enough natural pace and width to strike fear into the hearts of solid opposition.
Would love to see more flexibility in the system but in any case, even if we do persist with the solo striker, a back up for Kane, as you say, is an absolute must.
Suspect Levy & Co are probably waiting for Adebayor and Soldado to be confirmed as moving on before pushing the button on another forward, if and when then Berahino looks the most likely. Agree Mirallas too would be a fantastic signing.
One of the good strikers that could be considered by Spurs is Austin from QPR…We really need a new striker.
Berahino would tick both boxes – pace and goals. The price might be a bit prohibitive though.
I like Mirallas but he doesn’t seem that focused or committed. Maybe Pochettino could sort him out.
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