Fabrizio Romano left a tantalizing teaser on his Twitch channel yesterday suggesting that he had imminent news to follow, on Wolves’ speedster, Adama Traore.
Whilst, much of the talk in the UK has been on Tottenham’s supposed interest in the 25-year-old’s next move. In Spain, the conversation has moved on from Spurs and Sport, who believe that the boy is on his way to Barcelona.
Super agent Jorge Mendes is said to be beavering away in order to secure a move that could involve Francisco Trincao heading to Molineux as part of any deal.
I take a view that Traore is a horribly overrated player, and one that has proven over time that the quality of his crossing and goals isn’t really of the standard one might associate with a side playing at a billion-pound stadium.
There have even been suggestions that Antonio Conte will be able to work some class of miracle with the lad. Hasn’t the Italian got enough on his plate?
I’m scared of Emerson. Every time he has the ball I have to close my eyes!
Brilliant
I do love a revolution!
And we all know what City thought of FFP. The irony is they got fined!
Agreed, Traore is a liability. A muscley Walcott. But, better than what we have!
Agreed, but City is run by a country and Spurs is run by someone that sounds the same……without the ry! City buy the best young players in the North while Chelsea do it in the South. Most clubs are now on a hiding to nothing with regards their youth set ups. Even if a team gets a quality young player they are easily enticed to move to City/Chelsea. Their business models of loaning players out and selling them on makes more money per year than Spurs having to sell their crown jewels. Unfortunately, it’s a rich man’s game and Joe Lewis, albeit minted, does not want to spend.
You may have stumbled over Hitchen & Co’s magic recruitment algorithm there
He tore united ,chelsea and liverpool to shreds. When last has a spurs player done that? If you look at the passed liverpool games,Traore was putting in very good crosses for Jiminez.If he can get us 12 points against the top 4 team. Also the game where City were unbeaten in around 38 games ,when wolves beat them,Traore was man of the match
I agree,we dont have players that step up against the bigger teams. Traore does that. He might not be the best around ,but it’s the best we can do for now. He is much better than whatever we have right currently.20 mill now is a bargain.
Everywhere he goes he converts a winger to a wingback. When we were linked with Conte it was rubber stamped that he would do the same here
Not a great wing back but a decent defender. Conte has got Ben Davies playing well. Solid and steady defensively and actually attacks the inside channel occasionally which confuses the opposition who don’t expect Davis to show up in and around the edge of their box. They expect the threat to be an overlap from a wide area.
I reckon Royal could do similar things on the right channel defensively and offensively. Especially if Traore or similar is the overlapping threat. Royal is six feet tall so tucking him in next to Romero or Dier is a possibility.
For me there are two different ways that people could fight back.
1.
AFC Hotspur of Tottenham. Supporters of all other professional clubs could be invited to set up independent supporters associations with tens of thousands of members. For a £100 investment from each member some land could be purchased and a committee could be formed through a democratic process of electing the best candidates.
You seed a pitch, build some dressing rooms and a clubhouse with a bar. Under co-operation with other AFC supporters groups, from all the other clubs, you start your own leagues and affiliate them with the F.A. and enter cup competitions. You grow the clubs and improve the facilities as you’re going along.
In other words; the supporters, through cooperation, start it all again and supporters run the clubs for the supporters. FC United’s mistake was not asking other supporters clubs to join them and set up a league. United we stand.
2.
The existing clubs join together against the bankrolled clubs. An unofficial pact is made and when playing these teams all the other clubs field the weakest team they can and the supporters don’t turn up. Against every other team you play your strongest team. 5th place, or whichever place is the new ‘top of the league’ becomes the new ‘champions’.
‘Friendlies’, between the new ‘champions’ of each European league are ‘arranged’ in a knockout format.
In this way you make the victories of the elite teams futile and deny them their glory. The minute the European Super League was announced that was the way the matter should have been dealt with. Gobchite Neville didn’t think to suggest that did he?
oops
Yes, I would quite like to see him on the right side of a back 3, but he’s not a great wingback.
Blame football for this, not Spurs. Newcastle will be the next at the table within 5 years their petro-dollars will be added to Chelsea and City’s at the top of the table.
Liverpool got lucky with Klopp, some decent fullbacks and Salah and are making the most of it.
Support a team out of the big 3 and it’s purely an exercise in the “race” for the top 4 and hoping to get lucky in a cup competition.
You say Chelsea ad United are not much better than Spurs, well Chelsea definitely are over the course of a season, and the only crumb of comfort is that United have suffered from arguably an even worse transfer strategy than Levy could manage, and paid 50% more for the privilege!
My point is; without knowing the full SP you can’t lay all the blame at Levy’s door for the rubbish that was subsequently signed unless you are prepared to give Levy all the credit for signing or awarding contracts to all the players named above.
The only thing we know for sure is that Poch definitely did not sign any of these players. Most of the crap arrived, had contracts renewed or were promoted while he was ‘manager’.
My view is that Paul Mitchell was equally important to Spurs progression under Poch as Poch was for coaching the players.
Levy’s biggest mistake was sacking Paul Mitchell and this is what he deserves most criticism for.
I’m in the category of supporter that thinks Poch was a great head coach but not such a great manager.
Paul Mitchell signed 6 top players for Spurs that made the team better and the squad stronger. Dele, Wimmer Trippier, Alderweireld, Son and Wanyama.
Poch inherited Lloris, Dier, Davies, Vertonghen, Walker, Rose, Eriksen, Dembele and Kane.
Spurs also had players like Chadli, Townsend, Mason and Bentaleb in the squad.
Look at those names. Poch did not sign one of them.
I’m not so sure. The purple patch for signings was definitely under Paul Mitchell. Mitchell arrived in November 2014. From January 2015 Spurs signed;
Dele, Wimmer, Trippier, N’jie, Alderweireld, Son and Wanyama. Wanyama signed in June 2016. All of these players, with the exception of N’jie, made the team / squad stronger, were sold for profit or remain at the club.
Paul Mitchell continued the good work he had done at Spurs in his next recruitment role at RB Leipzig. Mitchell is now working at Monaco.
On May 12th 2016 Pochettino signed his new Spurs contract which changed his role at the club from ‘head coach’ to ‘manager’. This change suggests that Pochettino’s role was expanded from coaching and selecting the first team to having a bigger say in recruitment.
In August 2016, reports suggested Mitchell was to leave the club “after his dream job turned into a nightmare” and he had fallen out with the chairman. In December 2016, it was revealed Mitchell was serving his 16-month notice period.
The subsequent signings were; Janssen, N’koudou, Sissoko, Gazzanigga, Davinson Sanchez, Juan Foyth, Serge Aurier, Llorente and Moura. At this point Levy stopped spending for 18 months.
I loved Poch as a coach and a man but I think the hypothesis that he is / was not responsible for the majority of the signings after Paul Mitchell fell out with Levy and left THFC is absolutely mad. Several of these players are South American / Spanish speaking. Gazzanigga is actually from the same Village in Argentina as Poch. A small place called Murphy. Having seen him play in goal I think he may be Poch’s illegitimate son; never mind his pick for the club.
Moura and Aurier were bought from PSG where Poch played and now manages. Mmm; I wonder.
Levy is ultimately responsible for allowing these things to happen. However; those who think Poch was blameless are as deluded as the Levy lovers. Levy is to blame for a lot of things but regarding the second group of players signed under Poch I think he is only half to blame.
I’m just hoping we have rations. Levy’s alligator arms have yet to reach his pockets weeks into the window!
Poch intimated on numerous occasions that he didn’t get the players he asked for. The Saha and Nelsen farce also evidences who is in charge of the transfer ‘strategy’. I don’t understand the bitterness towards Poch who built great foundations from scratch and was then ‘rewarded’ with the brave action he called for by getting nothing for successive transfer windows. No one has ever repeated this stunning policy before or since which says all you need to know about Levy. He thinks he is a maverick yet he’s just a court jester to the real club owners.
Well your mate asked for Dybala and Fernandes, Mourinho asked for Skriniar. The managers have had no say in the matter, Levy makes an excuse as to why he can’t get them, then buys in cheaper alternatives, you know like Lo Celso, Vinicious, Rodon etc. He’s done this with every manager so far. It dates back to the Rednapp side when he asked for 2 top signings to go for the league and got Nielson and Saha!
You can’t blame the greatest manager we ever had for Levy’s incompetence, no one will believe you and just think you have an axe to grind with Poch?
Why should Levy do anything different. It’s working for him, spends little and is favourite with the bookies for that fourth Champions League spot.
We have the chairman said we have an academy stocked full of top talent.
No that was Levy and Hitchen for sure. It’s always Levy that decides at the end of the day. Mourinho wanted Skriniar and got Rodon as an example. If Levy doesn’t back Conte we’re fooked.
FFP was meant to lock out the Man City’s of this world and keep Manure, Arsenal et Al at the top of the pecking order. Was never intended to level the playing field.
I don’t believe any Tottenham manager has any serious say on transfers. Most managers won’t refuse a new signing even if they don’t rate them.
I don’t believe Poch signed them.
Not just physically, no cojones either, let themselves be intimidated by that bunch, hadn’t enough manly spirit or pride to stand up for each other.
I’d imagine good as Victor Moses was he was surrounded by much superior players at both clubs.
That.
Another world class talent off the production line.
They did indeed. TG was quality. Liverpool, the team of the time, rated Galvin the best player Spurs had. Their defensive tactics were built around stopping TG when they played Spurs.
A soulless empty box, which with all it’s glass even the most deluded are beginning to see through.
I take Conte at his word and he said two or even three players coming in January would not solve Tottenham’s fundamental problems.
I’m just baffled how much faith certain fans have put in the addition of Traore.
I agree we need better but this is Levy holding the purse strings. If Conte really wants him then that is good enough for me.
At least they could both play. Did they not both represent the Rep of Ireland as well?
Absolutely agree! I played football many years ago at a very low standard but we were always taught to cross the ball from the by line as it makes it much harder to defend against balls from there. I am all for pacey wingers and I love St-Maximin. I used to love watching Waddle, Ginola, eg.
Maybe he would’ve had a few more starts if we’d had a manager who actually gave the youngsters a chance during the past 3 years.
Fully agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if the impetus pushing the Traore interest is nothing more than Spurs’ vaunted sports science department wishing to get their paws on a shiny new specimen.
It’s now the perfect storm of ENIC’s ‘limited budget’ and Poch’s terrible signings. Levy is culpable whatever way you look at it but I do think he stopped signing players because he no longer trusted Poch to sign the right players.
100% bang on the money. The worst signings came in when Poch got his role changed from Head Coach to Manager. He insisted on this. Players were signed and then Levy stopped funding him. In other words; Poch’s picks sunk Spurs and having backed a manager for the first time ever Levy shat the bed.
“This is our Achilles heel right now – we have none in the squad. Levy’s insanely shortsighted transfer dealings have ensured we are essentially a crippled team, now having to play Winks in that role. Back to square pegs in round holes again.”
Exactly this. The most important player to sign is the creative midfield player. Getting a good one will mean Spurs will start scoring goals again and beating the teams we should be beating.
“why we believe we can when it isn’t even clear “
He’s affordable and gettable within ENIC’s constraints. An ‘He will do for now’ signing.
Royal can do on the right what Davies is doing on the left. Dier and the rest could be ‘squad’ players, when Romero returns, if the right ‘wing back’ conundrum can be resolved.
Regarding Royal; I reckon this fella is OK. Would not be at all surprised to see him rocking up on the right side of our back 3 in Conte’s system. You are right to say he doesn’t beat his man going forward and his crossing is not great. However; Royal has the most successful tackles of all Spurs players this season and the fella is an efficient defender. This is why Sanchez, Roden and Tanganga are under pressure imho.
Tony Galvin did the crossing from the left and Huggy cut inside.
Chris Hughton was a right footed left back! He was inverted.
Too many headers?
(to Marbella)
We can’t have them heading the ball in (from the crosses provided by non inverted wingers) in case they get Alzheimer’s?
I’d go further and bring back wingers, pacey players who beat any number of players and delivered crosses or passes to score, too many naturally gifted players are having that coached out of them IMO.
Which is why I am such a fan of Saint-Maximin who just plays his natural game, he’d be awesome for us, again IMO, I cannot understand why we would not be interested.
Maybe his agent told him not to sign a deal at Spurs so he doesn’t get trapped like Harry Kane if his career takes off? That would explain why he didn’t get sent out on loan or picked for the first team. Marcus Edwards went a similar way.
But this is just more ‘Harry Winks is better than Hojbjerg’ isn’t it? Levy’s still counting the money while we argue among ourselves about the small print.
I’m losing interest in Spurs by the day. It is clear that Manchester City have perfected how to win the Premier League. They have two top notch players for every position and the best youth players coming through as well. Spurs need to sign about 16 players to genuinely compete with them. As a ‘legacy supporter’ I have seen Spurs win domestic and European trophies; I’m only interested in seeing them win the league at least once in my lifetime. I’m 52.
Spurs ‘project’ when juxtaposed with City’s project really puts my hopes into perspective. Chelsea and United have spent a fortune and they are not much better than Spurs. FFP was supposed to level the playing field. It hasn’t.
This particular ‘proposed’ transfer, of Adama Traore, has really focussed me. I was in favour. Having thought about it for a bit longer I’m now not sure at all. Traore as a wing back, in Conte’s system, has been the sugar coated packaging applied to this potential transfer by the various media pimps who have emerged during transfer windows with their varying degrees of ‘credibility’. Another modern football phenomenon.
I have heard some saying Traore is not what we should be signing but I have been in the camp that believes he may have something to offer. However; I have been watching highlights from the 05/06 season recently and I have come to realise that Traore would not have got in that team. Spurs had midfield players like Carrick, Jenas, Pedro Mendes Danny Murphy, Sean Davis, Taino, Lennon, Reid & Edgar Davids.
I would suggest that all of these players walk into the current Spurs starting 11 for one reason and one reason only. They were all better than the midfield players currently playing for Spurs. Even Andy Reid. This is the real problem. Traore gets in because he is better than what we have.
Levy signing Adama Traore for Spurs, to play in front of 60,000 @ the Lane will be a bit like the situation that arose for Del Boy when he hired Tony Angelino to sing at Eugene McCarthy’s mother’s birthday bash. It will be OK when he first starts to sing but; when it is necessary to deliver the chorus in style we all end up cwying.
Levy is to Spurs what Malcolm McClaren was to the Sex Pistols.
The gweatest wock and woll swindle.
Another advantage is Traore often draws 2 defenders onto him whereas nobody is scared of Emerson. At the Watford game for example they often didn’t even bother to mark him as they seemed to know he was firing blanks.
Hopefully Traore can create space for others.
Emerson: Can’t beat a man, has no end product
Traore: CAN beat a man, has no end product.
I’d say that makes him 50% better! 🙂
He’s 20, I would argue that any _actual_ good young prospect should have had a few more first team starts under his belt by now if he was actually all that and the proverbial bag of chips.
I think he’s in the wrong sport. He’d be a good winger in rugby union given his build and pace.
The phrase “as soon as” in the title made me chuckle.
Hoddle used to like using the system as England and Spurs manager. I thought it worked well at England.
It’s youth academy, scouting system and transfer strategy is shambolic.
We’re limited in squad size and we have to clear a certain number out to bring new bodies in or we’ll be bloated both in numbers and wages. We also have to remember the home grown element. It’s a conundrum for sure, but we do need a playmaker, RWB, striker and lastly another left sided CB. Then perhaps we can seriously challenge for top 4. Will be very hard this season, but after the summer window we should be good to go if Levy and Paratici do their jobs. We need tier 1 transfers though.
We want to buy him. Wolves want to sell him. And yet we wait as the fixture backlog piles up.
One thing I find fascinating about Conte and Poch too is that their lack of English often result in strange choices of words at the pressers and maybe some unrealised honesty. I keep thinking about how Conte the other day described Spurs as a “modern club.” What does this mean? Is it like a modern house, with a great view built on the edge of a cliff with no money left for insurance or furniture?
Add to this that there is no great evidence that Traore can put in a decent cross as a winger, much less that he can defend or will suddenly become better at putting in crosses if he suddenly takes on a more defensive role. I’d love to be proved wrong and have him turn into the new Bale or whatever, but if I were a betting man ……
I might not have your tactical acumen but wing backs are a current fashion, IMO. What were Walker and Rose? Perryman could defend and cross and dare I mention Hughton or Cyril Knowles? I say piffle to wing backs!
Then along came Pep and because of his success every coaching manual was thrown in the bin and every new coach has tried emulating what he has brought to to the game, the problem is you have to do it with inferior players, although what Potter is doing with his players is absolutely brilliant.
Here we go… Scrapping the bottom of the barrel again 🤦🏼♂️
Just what does he bring that’s better than we already have ? I’m surprised Conte is buying into this.
He scored his first goal in eons and has never had much of an end product. we cornered the market in no end product, janssen soldado njie nkodu sessehnon etc so no more please.
I thought Louis was the billionaire and not Levy! Vlahovic and Kesssie wont be arriving either as they will wait for the calls in Summer
Just seen Markanday is having a medical at Blackburn ahead of a permanent move for 500k. Our best young prospect gone for a poxy 500 grand. Why didn’t we loan him out last year?? This club is a fucking joke.
Can’t see him coming on loan what use is that to the ever improving Wolves. So if we buy him he will not be cheap..5 /6 year Hitchenaride deal plus wages..
Carry on Up the Tottenham
‘This’ – I agree precisely.
I’m sure if we can get him for sub-£22m-ish then he can be exactly whatever we need him to be.
Not sure I understand what you mean H
Wing backs are needed in both Contes preferred formations. The 352 and 343. Both systems play with wing backs often with different instructions. Sometimes one or the other bombs forward, sometimes they both bomb forward.. When defending either both sit back making a back 5, or one or the other sits back making a back four… A wing back ideally can play as a winger, but has the versatility to revert back to a full back when defending. You need to have an engine to play this role,you need to be a good all rounder, and ideally have bags of pace….. The point of inverted wingers is literally down to a players personal preference. Many players feel more comfortable that way. They can trick opponents, cut inside and score often. They are always goalscorers. Think of Messi, Salah, Bale, Nedved.
This.
Tbh he wanted to go to citeh and he did struggle with us the first couple of seasons until he found his form when for 2 seasons we had the best fence in the league
I just do not understand this current day obsession with wing backs. Why can’t we have fullbacks that can defend and cross the ball? Why not play wingers who can beat a man, get to the by line and cross the ball? What is the point of inverted wingers anyway? Why not play a left footed player on the left and vice versa for the right? Football is a simple game.
Our academy seems to be full of small schoolboys who never turn into men.
We were stronger all round back then.. You’re right we do need a creator/playmaker in the middle. We also need a striker, a right wing back and a centre back most urgently.. The problem we apparently have now is that we need to sell before we buy.. Selling the likes of Tanguy, Gio and Dele won’t be easy. Funnily enough all these top record flop signings that we are trying to shift were Botchettino targets and signings. When he was finally given money and club record signings, that’s when we really went downhill.
It’s hard to ignore how many club coaches have worked with him and don’t appear to get the right results, why we believe we can when it isn’t even clear he is a Conte choice is the puzzle.
Think he’s played consistently well for City and England.
If I was manager then I wouldn’t want Adam. A fine athlete, good at running with the ball, but not great in every other department.. However Conte won the Prem and Serie A with Victor Moses first choice at right wing back… The big question is does Conte want Traore? If he does then go get him. Back the damn manager. Believe in the Contedust 🐓
Call me an optimist but this one still excites me.
Against Chelsea it wasn’t just like ‘men vs boys’…it was like ‘giants vs shorties’. Physically we looked far from imposing.
Step forward this bloke.
Liverpool are overrun with quality RB’s currently and I mentioned the other day one young player that we could do a lot worse than if we take a punt on Neco Williams.
If he improves our possession in the oppo third then that’s something, match after match we just can’t make the ball stick up there – especially when under pressure holding onto narrow leads etc
I’m not convinced he is right for this club, however the one characteristic Traore has in his favour is the ability to go forward, not sideways or backwards, just attack first and last, it’s the one key area that we undoubtedly lack in our play.
It’s of note that the two times we were really successful getting top 4, under Rednapp and of course Poch, we had first class AM’s/playmakers in VdV and Eriksen. This is our Achilles heel right now – we have none in the squad. Levy’s insanely shortsighted transfer dealings have ensured we are essentially a crippled team, now having to play Winks in that role. Back to square pegs in round holes again.
Do Levy and Hitchen even understand the principle of targeted transfers? I think they prefer the concept of budget transfers in all honesty. A player is a player to Levy. It’s up to the manager to make the player work and if he can’t he sacks the manager. When it comes to footballing acumen Levy is a hamster on a treadmill and with a similar IQ.
Wolves have just signed a Portuguese winger – making Traore mor elikely.
Why are we even having to go outside the club to get our players when we have a world class academy?Surely we have our own Conor Gallagher,Billy Gilmore.Reece James,Phil Foden,Cole Palmer,TAA Curtis Jones,Mason Greenwood,Scott McTominay all waiting to burst upon the first team squad.Maybe not……perhaps it’s just another Levy illusion.
Absolutely correct. Now Klopp is thinking of selling Firmino and I suspect they might not offer Salah a new contract at his age
.They know you have to keep updating the squad to stay ahead and like Chelsea, they won’t extend the contracts of players over a certain age.
True ,but Walker was utter rubbish when Poch arrived and towards the end of his spurs career was also not very good.Alot of the Man city fans call him a liability
The jam is very runny, full of pips and there’s not much of it either.
I’d love to know who Conte really wants. Perhaps he’s not really bothered as he’s sees us as just a quick payday and stepping stone to a proper football club.
Good old Poch got the hump with Kyle Walker (sold for £47.43m) for whatever reason and karma is a bitch.
Tripper (£4.41m) –> Aurier (£22.5m) –> Doherty (£15.12m) –> Emerson Royal (£22.5m) –> Adama Traore? (£20m+)
Kyle Walker is still in the City 1st team 4 years after we sold him.
We have also tried Tanganga, Foyth and Walker-Peters at RB.
Good grief, the recruitment at Spurs by Levy and Hitchen has been unforgivable.
It would be nice to think that Daniel was aware that recruiting a world class manager to work in bringing success would require recruiting world class players to allow him to do that.
Investing in the squad is no longer a cheap option for young players.
If Conte wants a wing back get him a world class one not someone he might be able to do something with.
I have never attacked Levy but hope he realises the whole plan has reached a critical point.
Traore doesn’t cut it.
Might as well have given Markanday a go. Too late.
One has to look at Liverpool when Klopp realised he needed a class CB and GK, so proceeded to pay what was required to bring Van Dijk and Alisson which transformed the team. The money they spent is no different to the amount of money we wasted on average players.
He wouldn’t get into any of the Chelsea, Liverpool or City sides. Why must we perpetually buy average players, particularly with a billion pound stadium, funded by debt, and our “world class facilities? In order to win things, you don’t have to be a genius to work out the teams with the best players and the highest wage bills generally always win the most important titles, if you discount Leicester’s incredible triumph. Why are we not targeting Barca who have to sell to raise funds. De Jong, Dembele and Umtiti are all for sale. Traore is just not good enough and barely improves us.
‘I take a view that Traore is a horribly overrated player,’
Horribly is putting it lightly H. I am far from impressed, but then again it has the finger prints of Scrooge all over it.
This has to be a Levy move.
A waste of rations
I hope he does go to Barca. We are only interested in him because he is cheap.