Overall this period saw Tottenham Hotspur loaning and selling out more players than bringing in. Fans desperately were crying out for chairman Daniel Levy to bring in another striker to ease the workload that Harry Kane is currently taking on. Unfortunately they did not acquire one as talks between Fulham for Moussa Dembele broke down on deadline day and Jeremy Peace continued to not budge on his asking price for Saido Berahino.
Still even though it was a boring transfer period for Spurs, it doesn’t mean it was a bad one. I still believe that this transfer period was successful for the Lilywhites.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino said earlier this month that Spurs would only bring someone in if the price was right. I’m glad Levy and him stuck by that and in particular didn’t overpay or give in to Peace’s demands for Berahino. Shilow Tracey, who signed from Ebbsfleet United, looks like an exciting prospect with a bright future. However I would of loved to see Dembele at White Hart Lane as I think he would have been a great signing and backup striker to Kane.
Spurs’ fans are all worried about Kane and the amount of minutes he’s playing. It’s not tough to admit that he’s playing ton of minutes right now, as he’s the only registered striker on the first team, as Clinton N’Jie is still out dealing with an injury.
When Kane’s needed a rest, Poch has relied on the depth of the Spurs’ first team to get by and it’s paid off. Son Heung-Min has displayed that he is capable of filling in after a brilliant showing against Leicester City. N’Jie is expected to return in early March so for now Spurs will have to deal with it and trudge on with one striker. It’s not going to be easy with the amount of games Spurs have in February, but I think they’ll be alright.
Received a good return for the players that left
Out of favour Andros Townsend was the main footballer that ended up leaving White Hart Lane this season. Newcastle acquired the winger for £12 million, which I think is a fantastic return for a guy who hadn’t played first team football in a couple months. I wouldn’t say it was highway robbery, but I think Levy got back more than what Townsend was worth at the time.
He also got centre-back Federico Fazio’s wages off the books as he was loaned back to his former club Sevilla. Ever since his poor performance against Arsenal in the Capital One Cup, Fazio has not been apart of Pochettino’s plans moving forward. Loaning out Fazio was a solid decision that needed to be done because no club wants to be paying wages to a player who’s just sitting in the reserves.
They also loaned out midfielder Alex Pritchard. His wages are also off the books and he’s now getting top-tier experience at West Bromwich Albion. This is vital to his growth and hopefully after this he’ll be ready for the first team next season.
Miloš Velijković was sold to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen after rejecting a new contract here at White Hart Lane. I think the young Serbian has a bright future but he desired first team minutes at the Lane when he was way down the pecking order. Nothing anyone can do if a player doesn’t want to be here anymore. Hopefully he succeeds.
Levy and Poch know what they’re doing
Overall this transfer season may not of ended how Spurs’ fans would of liked, and some may be disappointed, but even though it was a quiet transfer period it was a good one for them. Don’t lose faith over Levy and Poch. The team they’ve built currently sits in third place in the Premier League and five points out of first. Everyone right now should be confident that they know what they’re doing.
The reality of the January window is that it’s always filled with a ton of rumours, but not a ton of big moves happen. It’s tough to bring in a new player half way through the season. They have to learn the manager’s tactics, form chemistry with the rest of the team, and even for some adjust to the playing style of English football.
Just look at how long it took Érik Lamela to adjust to the style of football here in England. Son’s been here for a few months and doesn’t look fully settled in. It takes time when you bring in a player, something that you have a lot of during the summer. Look for those players like Berahino and Dembélé to be linked back to Spurs as soon as the summer transfer window opens.
What do you think about Spurs’ moves during the previous transfer window.
