Another player linked with a switch to Tottenham Hotspur is about to join Arsenal, but Piero Hincapie should have always been at the bottom of Spurs’ priority list.
Tottenham Hotspur have had a remarkable transfer window, but for all the wrong reasons. Time and time again, the club have been linked with a player, only for a move to never occur.
This began with the Morgan Gibbs-White ordeal. It looked certain the 25-year-old would swap the City Ground for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but instead he ended up signing a new contract at Nottingham Forest.
Next came Eberechi Eze, who joined Arsenal, despite being backed to sign for Spurs. It now seems likely that Piero Hincapie could join him at the Gunners, yet another player who was rumoured to be on Tottenham’s radar.
Fabrizio Romano reported that Tottenham sent a bid for Hincapie, which included a loan with an obligation to buy. However, Arsenal quickly stole a march on the race for the Bayer Leverkusen defender.
Tottenham should not have been pursuing Piero Hincapie
One of Tottenham’s biggest failures in the transfer window has been targeting players who only see the Europa League winners as their second choice.
Thomas Frank has already got off to a good start and he deserves a squad that gives their all. Spurs should show no interest in any player who treats the club as a safety net in the event that no other teams want them.
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However, there is another problem with Tottenham pursuing Hincapie and that is to do with his position. The Bayer Leverkusen man is a centre-back, a position where Spurs have already strengthened this summer with the signings of Kevin Danso and Koto Takai. On top of these, Luka Vuskovic joined up with the Tottenham first-team squad.
Despite plenty of rumours, Spurs managed to keep hold of new captain Cristian Romero, while both Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin remain at the club. In total, this leaves Tottenham with seven centre-back options, so while Hincapie would have been a luxury, he is certainly not a necessity.
Spurs have bigger needs further up the pitch
If Tottenham are to spend £50m+ in three different positions, then by all means go for another defender. However, the chances of this happening are almost impossible, particularly as Mohammed Kudus alone cost £55m.
Spurs are only likely to make one or two further signings and the main priorities have to be the left wing and attacking midfield.
Tottenham did sign Mathys Tel, but the sale of Heung-min Son cancels out that move and demands another signing. Brennan Johnson has two goals in his last two matches playing on the left, but should he really be relied on to be first-choice on his secondary wing when he was second choice last season on his primary wing?
The attacking midfield is perhaps an even greater issue. Pape Matar Sarr is in excellent form, but Tottenham need an attacker who can offer what James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski can up front.
Therefore, Spurs must abandon any pursuit of a centre-back at this point in the transfer window and just ensure the attacking positions are filled.
It is too late to be perfecting the squad across every area of the pitch. Right now, there simply needs to be at least one clear starter in every position and this is not yet true of the left wing or attacking midfield.