It's been a slow start to the summer for Tottenham, despite making the Mathys Tel signing. Every summer I seem to go through the same thought process: lack of big moves, convince myself Levy sometimes gets it right when he leaves it late, bring up Rafael van der Vaart as an example ⦠then remind myself that, as great as that signing was, 2010 was actually a long time ago now.
No doubt we need to strengthen more, and big money quality additions, such as Eze, would be great. Thinking about free transfers too, though, I had hoped we would sign Leroy Sane. I also hoped we would move for Roony Bardghji (not free but with his contract nearing expiry, the fee was minimal). Neither can now happen as they are off to Galatasaray (Sane) and Barcelona (Bardghji), but there are still other options for Thomas Frank when it comes to free transfers.
Jonathan David
David is not short of offers and Juventus seems one very possible destination. Whatever the complications of a deal here, if Spurs arenât at least trying to make this happen it would be disappointing. He has been a very consistent goalscorer for Lille, particularly over the past 4 seasons and offers versatility to play as a lone striker, one of the three behind, or even in an old fashioned 4-4-2. Attack is an area of need for Spurs. This would not be easy to complete but would be well worth it.
Kyle Walker-Peters
Another area of need is full-back, so thereâs three on this list. First, Kyle Walker-Peters as everyone loves to see youth players in the first team, even if this would be his second spell with Tottenham. I donât think he had enough games when he broke into our first team before moving to the Saints. He has been consistent there and now has plenty of Premier League experience. I would not expect him to overtake Pedro Porro but with the number of games we will potentially have in this coming season, there will be plenty of opportunities.
Tyrick Mitchell
He could be staying with Crystal Palace who seem in a very good place now with Oliver Glasner and fresh off an FA Cup win, but if Mitchell was available, Spurs should be interested. Each time I see Palace, he is impressive, both going forward and defensively. Like Walker-Peters, he has been consistent at right back and has a lot of Premier League experience in the last few seasons. I would expect Mitchell to strongly challenge Pedro Porro and contribute a lot to the coming season.
Nelson Semedo
At the risk of including more right backs than a Gareth Southgate England squad, Iâll add a third here. Semedo is older than Walker-Peters or Mitchell but is still only 31. He would offer a greater attacking threat than the other two right backs Iâve mentioned, particularly taking on opponents. This perhaps makes him a little too similar to Pedro Porro but his form at Wolves and his consistency would make a valuable addition to the squad.
Marco Verratti
Verratti feels like a very un-Tottenham-like signing, but someone very experienced in playing and winning big games could boost the squad. He might not have to play every game, but his passing ability, the way he can keep play moving and help to control the tempo of a game, is different from other midfielders we have. Bergvall can be that player, and he might be aided by having someone like Verratti in the squad at the moment, too.