Tottenham Hotspur have wrapped 2025 up with a win. Victory against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park has rekindled hopes of securing a place in next season's Champions League, but there is a very long way still to go.
Thomas Frank was delighted with a spirited and resilient performance, but he will, of course, know that improvements are needed.
The Lewis family need to welcome investment in the January transfer window, adding fresh technical quality to Frank's central midfield.
Spurs' plan to sign a midfielder
Last season's winter transfer market was a busy one, and that trend is likely to continue next month. Tottenham have to ensure they are in amongst the big spenders, with tactical imbalances and less-than-impressive players hindering Frank's project.
It's worth issuing a reminder that both James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are expected back in the New Year after battling through long-term issues. Neither has featured under Frank's management.
Tottenham need more control, though. An anchor in a deeper berth. Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha have flattered to deceive in the middle of the park.
Adam Wharton would be a significant upgrade, with TEAMtalk insider Dean Jones claiming that the north Londoners are ready to step up their long-standing interest in the Crystal Palace midfielder.
Palace value Wharton, 21, as high as £100m, but with a host of elite suitors circling, Tottenham might be wise to pay the figure in 2026. It would enhance Frank's system and then some.
Why Wharton would be an upgrade on Bentancur
In Bentancur's defence, he has spent a lot of his time in Tottenham battling against injury. But Bentancur's defence is shaping up to be is only positive attribute this season, leaving much to be desired on the ball, layering his team's attacking efforts.
Analyst Raj Chohan has even gone as far as to claim that the 28-year-old is a “candidate for worst centre-midfielder at a big six club”. Wharton, on the fast track at Selhurst Park, would add youth and energy to a midfield that desperately needs all of the above.
Bentancur is an established and technically gifted international. He has a wealth of experience at the highest level. It is not too much to ask that he pass the ball forward every once in a while.
Wharton trumps him in that regard. The "passing machine", as he has been described by prominent journalist Henry Winter, has been instrumental in Oliver Glasner's title-winning success across the past year, so composed and collected from the heart of the Eagles system.
Wharton, moreover, is an able defender. Sofascore show that he has won 56% of his ground battles in the Premier League this season, averaging 1.9 tackles per game.
And he's only getting better. The England international has much more to his game than Bentancur, who has become stodgy and uninspiring beside a partner in Palhinha whose defining attribute is his tough-tackling combativeness.
There isn't enough variation and nuance.
To give rise to Tottenham's sleeping sparkle, Wharton must be signed. Though Palace would play hardball over a winter signing, Spurs might be richly rewarded for biding their time and striking during the summer, perhaps having addressed a number of different positions in January.
Tottenham's new hierarchy must showcase their ambition by adding quality to Frank's squad next month. Bentancur is limited in what he can do, and placing Wharton as the nucleus would only reinforce the bench, tidy up the centre and add new dimensions to Spurs' creative efforts.