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What a Summer for Spurs Should Look Like

While the stars will be focused on the World Cup, management has a hefty must-do list.

By Dillon WhitePublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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Our current leaders walk through the new stadium. In my opinion, on our first home game, Harry must be leading us out of that tunnel.

Decide on the Formation to Use Day One of the Pre-Season

This season has seen manager Mauricio Pochettino test out a variation of two different formations, utilizing all 23 of his players. Those formations are 4-2-3-1 and a 5-2-2-1. What does this mean for Spurs going forward? These lineups are very different and will require very choice personnel. If Pochettino decides to play five at the back, he must keep Toby Alderwierled at all costs, whereas, if he opts to stay with a four at the back, Tottenham should cash in on the 29-year-old in the Summer market. If Tottenham are to keep up with City, it all begins with a healthy pre-season.

Choose Personnel to Move Forward With and Those That Should Be Moved On

We all know the saga surrounding Toby Alderwield. If we move on, it should be now not later; especially if Mauricio opts to play four at the back. With that being said, this summer we could see up to four senior players move on. Those names on the chopping block are the aforementioned Alderwield, Danny Rose, Fernando Llorente, and maybe even Mousa Dembele. However, Tottenham could decide to cash in on the iced out Vincent Janssen, Moussa Sissoko, and even Erik Lamela. Now that would be a massive overhaul going into a brand new stadium—some of these players being with the squad since 2009. Never the less though, if I was Pochettino and controlling the transfers, I would see myself selling the following six players:

To begin with, Danny Rose due to health and drop of performance over the year (£40mil); Fernando Llorente and his lack of pace really limits him as a lone striker (£13mil); Mousa Dembele, on his day he can be the most valuable player in our squad, but niggling injuries should see him head to China for one last payday (£45mil); Vincent Janssen has divided many of opinions, as he has not really gotten a chance, but as he is going on 24, it is time to move on (£12mil); Marcus Edwards has lacked the mentality needed to be a professional footballer and needs a change of scenery (Swap Deal with Fulham) and finally, one out of left field: Serge Aurier. Even though we just purchased him from PSG, his recklessness is just not acceptable of a Champions League team (£25mil). All of that being said would bring us a total income of £135 million to include to our backing of £120 mil by our chairman, Daniel Levy. But lets be honest if we generate £135 mil Levy will give us just under 60 percent for transfers. Thus we will have a grand total of approximately £200 million for our targets. This would be ludicrous for a club that had a net spend last summer of £14 million. Now in today's market, with Manchester clubs spending half of a billion Euros combined, Tottenham must spend to compete and cross that final line to a trophy. As a club, Tottenham has now made the Top 4 in the Premier League four seasons in a row without winning a trophy in the last ten years. This as a fan is extremely disappointing yet it makes you stay tuned as you keep saying it must happen soon.

My Transfer Warchest

Now, to explain to new readers, these transfer targets have already been sounded out and chosen; it is merely a matter of will they choose US? For this piece, I am going to tell you who I think we should sign if we have this budget, as I feel they fit every check mark.

  1. Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham £50) - Unheralded speed, physicality, and ability to play anywhere on the left side of the pitch. This is a no brainer, it is just a matter of whether or not Fulham get promoted from the Championship. IF Fulham are promoted I expect him to stay and continue to grow. This is the swap deal I mentioned with Marcus Edwards; if we could negotiate £5-10million off of the initial deal.
  2. This will surprise people, but Jack Butland (Stoke City £15mil) - With Stoke City's back line, we will ignore the general yield of goals he has allowed. Let us look at the fact that he is 25 and would really push our "leader" Hugo Lloris, who is aging and has been at fault numerous times in big games this year and last year. With our back line and having to be at his best daily, I think he could be a gem—especially since Stoke will be forced to sell with their relegation on the horizon!
  3. Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon £60) - Now that Son has captured that Left wing as his own, we must sign a player to be our change of pace of the bench. Look up Gelson Martins. Enough said!
  4. Adrien Rabiot (PSG £40) - As I stated above, we will be forced to replace Mousa Dembele, and Rabiot is a natural successor with a much better goal scoring prowess. Unless Josh Onomah proves he can push Dembele, I see us definitely purchasing someone this summer, and Rabiot is a great choice.
  5. Edin Dzeko (As Roma £30) - We have been too reliant on Harry Kanein the past three seasons and Dzeko would be the real Llorente. He provides height, a glorious first touch, and a hammer of a left foot.
  6. And finally, James Maddison( Norwhich City £25) - This would put us over budget, but if Josh Onomah does not prove himself, I could see this being a swap deal for around £10-15 million. Now for Spurs fans around the world: I too hated what Maddison said, but that was five years ago. The player is different and we are a different club. What Maddison would bring is an English talent to learn directly from the best we need him in our club.

These purchases would herald our new stadium with glory for years to come. Our final net spend would be £215 million but we would be title challengers for years to come!

Matchday One Squad

When you look at this team and think of how we faltered in Cup competitions, multiple matches in the same week and the fact it would be impossible to rule this team out. In any competition we have the ability to change the game at will and also rotate without losing confidence in your ability to win matches.

What can we expect going forward as fans?

A new stadium brings many things, but most of all, it brings us —the fans— a new home to call ours after playing at Wembley for a year. New faces to a team of stars that has punched above their class for four years now. While 2017 has been a great year, it still proved to be trophy-less. While we have improved, it has not been enough to see us across the finish line in Cup competitions. What Mauricio Pochettino told us after the Semi-Final defeat to United was that he is growing weary of having to keep a team on a trimmed budget while those around us grow almost limitless. We have a squad that is like no other, built off of a minimalist approach. Now, to grow, we must spend both to keep players but also to bring new players in. If we achieve that balance, we will cross that line next year. At the end of the day, there is one quote that stands out for fans across the world:

“Football is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.” —Danny Blanchflower

There is no better way to describe our community of fans. While we have a lot to learn, we learn as a club and improve as a club. Next year, we must start like we end and finally break that crux, or I am afraid our key players may leave us and move to pastures anew.

#COYS

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About the Creator

Dillon White

Avid Sports fan and writer. My teams are Tottenham Hotspur in the Premiere League and Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.

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