At first glance, the summary of Tottenham’s transfer activity for January 2019/20 looks like a severe clearing of the decks in a post Pochettino landscape. The truth is, this time last year we had 11 young players out on loan and now we have 12.
These are players that possibly may be worth watching for the future, as the club have bot cut all ties. Given that this is Cameron Carter-Vickers’ 5th loan out, we’re looking one of two outcomes: the boy does a Harry Kane and miraculously finds within himself hitherto unseen resources, or the last chance saloon finally closes its doors on the now 22-year-old.
These are players never to bee seen in this parish again. Kindly note that the full on disaster No’Cluedo, was shunted on for an undisclosed feed to Besiktas.
In total 9 Academy products fell short of the required standards. Oh, and Vorm was released.
Players in (above) doesn’t include Gedson Fernandes, loaned in from Benfica, as that list consists of concrete sales.
Net spend fans will shudder at the +£104.6million that was wantonly splurged.
Other fans will be asking why so little of the spend addressed areas of concern. The reality is/was that it was too ambitious to believe that any club would be able to cure all ails in one window. Especially a January one.
Answers.
The defensive midfield solution is the hope that Tanguy Ndombele reaches a point of physical strength whereby he can play at least once a week.
The striker solution is the hope that Harry Kane’s surgery will indemnify him sufficiently, so he can play in every single club and international game that is available to him.
What we got was a continuation of the “mend and make do” approach, interwoven with ENIC’s insatiable desire to try to make a few quid by attempting to polish up one or two diamonds.
Questions abound.
Was the release of Harry Kane’s physio video a cynical drop, the day before Transfer Deadline Day to remind the easily swayed that Spurs don’t need another striker?
When will a slice of the £800,000 match-day nose bag revenue going to be shared with the football team? Instead of buying a bona fide second striker, we added more second string talent to our midfield. Bergwijn and Fernandes look half decent, but they were far from an obvious priority.
Conclusion.
José Mourinho must be wondering what he’s signed up to. The Portuguese will have known that he wasn’t going to get much say, or much money, but this level of handicapping cannot carry on unabated, and the club to still expect any class of European football.
I take a view that Mourinho’s instruction for the remainder of this season was “do your best”, if Levy has asked for anything more, then the disappointment is likely to sting.
This window ought to have been about securing a second striker who was hungry to disrupt and succeed. It wasn’t.
Did Spurs have a good transfer window? Buying Lo Celso makes all other complaints appear churlish.