All Quiet On The Tottenham Front

When you put the terms Tottenham and Transfer Window together on Twitter it usually brings a cry of “Where is our new Striker?”. Thankfully that has not been the case this summer as everything has been quiet….almost a little too quiet.

With Manchester City looking to conclude their transfer dealings early by buying all and sundry and Liverpool splashing out on £35m or so for Roma’s Mohamed Salah it is fair to say that supporters of Tottenham are getting a little bit twitchy at the lack of activity.

To be fair to the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy though I don’t think it is want of trying but also you could say just what exact need is there for new players to join the squad. Obviously it would be surprising if there were no new faces over the course of the summer but it could be very understandable at the same time.

The problem that the club have and as far as problems go it is a nice one, is that when finishing second in the Premier League it is hard to find players that are going to come in and enhance a unit of players which is very close to being the real deal.

We all know that Chelsea were simply relentless last season and had it not been for the blue machine steamrollering over everyone in the final few months of 2016 then the destination of the league title could have been going to a different part of London.

Although there was huge disappointment for everyone connected to Tottenham it did however show just how impressive this nucleus of players are and just how much they pushed Chelsea when at one point it looked like anything resembling a title race was never going to materialise.

So Mauricio Pochettino has to look at his first team and ask himself just what exactly needs to be done over the course of the off season to turn this side from runners up to title winners, the answer to that in all honesty is not a great deal.

Although that is not to say that nothing should be done, if there is one thing that Tottenham are missing right now is someone who is truly world class. Now you could point to the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld and say we already have a trio of world class names at our disposal.

And if you said that I don’t think you would be a million miles away from the truth but what I mean is someone in that bracket labelled ‘exceptional talent’ – unfortunately though this talent does not grow on trees and when it is produced it means it is going to cost a fair sum to move it elsewhere.

This ultimately comes down to a test of Tottenham’s ambitions not just over the summer but over the next few years as the clubs looks set to move to it’s new stadium in just over 12 months. Do they try and break the bank and add a name that could be the difference in seeing them over the line in regards to the title race.

The question here though is not only who do they go for but also who would you replace from the first eleven – on the basis of their performances last season it would be incredibly harsh to drop someone but perhaps the club needs evolution and not revolution.

Does someone like James Rodriguez become a better fit for the side then Christian Eriksen for example – it would be a tough call and would the likes of Eriksen be happy to sit on the bench after such an impressive end to the 2016/17 campaign. I think we all know the answer to that one.

So here in lies the problem that by buying bigger names you run the risk of ruining the harmony of a squad which looks like it is having a blast not just on the pitch but off it also, therefore the way to circumnavigate this issue may be to look to bolster the squad from the other end of the transfer market.

If there is one thing that Tottenham perhaps lacked last season it was squad depth, the perfect case in point here would have been the F.A Cup Semi Final. Chelsea had Eden Hazard and Diego Costa on their bench, Tottenham had George Kevin N’Koudou. A stark difference between the two I am sure you will agree.

As good dare I say as great as Tottenham’s starting eleven’s were last season when you dropped down to the bench there was a sizeable drop off in quality and that in my opinion is were Tottenham can be made even stronger next season.

By buying players that are hungry but more importantly happy to play more of a squad role then it gives Pochettino more options and negates any potential risk of burning out his star names. In an ideal you would a backup who can come straight into the team without any drop off to the perceived quality of the team.

The hard part is selling a vision to a player which for all intents and purposes says ‘you are not guaranteed to start week in week out but you will have a role to play at this club’ which with Tottenham looking to compete on so many fronts is going to be something of a necessity.

They do not even have to be young names, perhaps a couple of older wiser heads in the squad would enhance this team even further. An example would be when Leicester signed Esteban Cambiasso, he may have only played at The King Power for a season but there was no doubting the positive input that the Argentine had on the team.

People could point to Vincent Janssen and Moussa Sissoko of examples of buying squad players which has not worked, I think in the case of the former he should certainly be given another season as with the form of Harry Kane it is harsh to say than Janssen has been an all out flop, while Sissoko has shown that he is good at holding up the ball in the corner spot and not a lot else. With that in mind it is probably best that the club look to cut their losses.

In theory though if Tottenham cannot get those exceptional talents that we mentioned above then these are the kinds of signings that they should be looking to make. One example could be Ross Barkley but with Everton wanting £50m for a player who is out of contract next season then Tottenham are well minded to wait for 12 months and then look to acquire his services.

You must not forget that should Erik Lamela ever return then that will add another name to the attacking midfield ranks, dare I spout the cliche but ‘it’s almost like a new signing’ that may not be the case but at least it will be something of a welcome return.

Also hopefully this is the season where Josh Onomah can kick on after his England Under 20 World Cup exploits and really begin to make a foothold in the first team squad, him coupled with the returning Harry Winks from injury means the midfield will have a youthful look to it next season.

One area which I think can certainly be upgraded is that of the left centre back role as Kevin Wimmer’s fleeting appearances last season where not all that great and I think that the backup for Jan Vertonghen is something of a necessity.

The link with Chris Smalling is one that would have raised eyebrows but surely the Manchester United and England defender would be wanting first team football on a weekly basis and I don’t think anyone can advocate the splitting of the Belgian pairing at the back.

In fairness the harder task that Tottenham are going to have this Summer is making sure all the star names stay, Eric Dier is a name that is repeatedly being linked with Manchester United while there are still question marks regarding Kyle Walker and a possible move to Manchester City.

If either of these two were to depart then the need for transfer business becomes more pertinent, for Dier the loss would be his versatility especially due to Tottenham being able to change formations mid match thanks to his presence while in Walker’s case it would mean looking for a replacement right back to act as understudy for Kieran Trippier who has shown for both club and country that he can make the step up.

So in summary although a new signing or two is always a positive sight at time of the year, I don’t think Tottenham fans have any cause for concern just yet as buying a whole host big names may end up being more of a hindrance than a help. Lets see what the next month or so brings and ultimately what happens at Wembley next season