With the suggestions currently doing the rounds, that talks for the signature of Cristian Romero have reached an impasse, it was clearly time to take a look at the background to the deal. Without too much critical thought, it was pretty clear where the blockage was most likely to be found.
Tottenham is now two weeks away from the beginning of the Premier League season and with a mountain of work to be done. Too much of the deadweight feels like it is still hanging in for grim death, and the acquisitions to date have only been bit-part players. Talk of a rebuild being underway appears to be an excitable overreaction.