With the January transfer window now in the rear view mirror, attention turns now from what can clubs do in the market to how they DID do in the market. Tottenham Hotspur brought in three players in this window: goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, central defender Kevin Danso, and attacker Mathys Tel, with the latter two on loan.
Fan reaction to Spurs’ window has been mixed — while most fans think the players brought in constitute a decent window that addresses Tottenham’s needs for the second half of the season, there’s a lot of consternation about the timing of the moves and why Spurs waited until the end of the window to bring in players that would have been very useful playing matches earlier in January.
Tottenham’s sporting director Johan Lange “moves in darkness” as we like to say — since assuming his role he has maintained strict radio silence and has pretty much locked down most leaks coming out of the club. So it’s very interesting now to see a video interview on Tottenham’s YouTube channel with Lange where he talks about the overall window, the challenges the club faces when addressing significant moves in January, and why Spurs waited so gosh-darn long to make moves.
It’s a very interesting video, and I’ve embedded it in the article header so you can watch it in full. Here are a few choice excerpts.
First, Lange was asked about the overall dynamics of the January window and why it’s often a challenge for clubs to make significant decisions in the middle of the season. Lange was also asked to reflect a bit on each of Spurs’ three signings.
“The January transfer window is always a difficult window. Normally it’s about 10% of transfers are started in the January window compared to the summer. We came into the window with an ambition of trying to strengthen us in certain areas. We sit here after the window having signed a new goalkeeper, a new centerback, and an offensive player as well. So that is where we are and overall we are very satisfied with that.
“Toni (Kinsky) is a goalkeeper that we have followed for a long time. He was a target that we were considering for the summer, but due to Vicario’s injury we decided to see if we could move it forward. He’s a goalkeeper that despite his young age is quite proven — he has been in goal in the Czech division for the last few years. He’s a very modern goalkeeper, and a player that suits our style of play. We followed him a lot, I think we watched him 10-12 times live during the summer and I have very detailed knowledge of him as a character. We’re very excited that he is at the club and of course will come in and compete.
“[With Danso] stylistic fit is always important. With the way we play we need players that will come and be comfortable in that style. With Kevin, he’s a very good stylistic fit but he also comes with a lot experience, both in the Bundesliga and also Ligue 1 in France and also with the Austrian national team. He’s a good age, with the experience to come in and take a role from the first day. We’re getting to know him more and more and I’m sure his personalty will play a huge factor in his role going forward.
“Mathys [Tel] is a fantastic talent. He’s one of a unique group of players that at a young age has already played a lot of football at a very high level — he’s played over 60 games in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and has played 15-16 games in the Champions League for Bayern Munich at the age of 19. He’s a versatile attacking player who has the ‘X-factor’ and hopefully will bring excitement to the stadium as well. He’s a player that all of us can’t wait to ‘set free’ and hopefully we will share some fantastic experiences together in the future.”
To the club’s credit, Lange was asked about why so many January transfers don’t happen until the end of the window. Lange responded that there were some changes to the January dynamic that made moves even more difficult than in past years, particularly the change to the European competition structure that meant the first round didn’t end until after the window closed.
“That is a fair question. We as a club would’ve liked to do all our signings on January 1, and we were ready to do that, but it’s not as easy as that. I think in this January in particular the dynamic changed a little bit. We’re not the only team that has injuries, and also the dynamic of the new European [tournament] format. Meaning that all the teams competing in the European season have had to play group matches in January, which has [until now] never been the case. Normally the clubs will know their fate in December. But the fact is that teams are playing two group games in late January, and more teams that are playing in the playoff stages. And those things meant that clubs are more reluctant [to sell players]. So it’s about finding the right players here to come into the team. It’s not about buying the first players available, it’s about finding players for now and also for the future.
“In the first two weeks of January I think there were about 12 transfers in the whole of the Premier League, and that says a lot. You can of course influence things but you can’t completely dictate the whole transfer window dynamics. Some players are also uncomfortable making a change mid-season, because they want to ride the season out, or join a new club with a full preseason. We are asking players and families to make a move — within 24 yours you’re leaving your country, you’re starting, you’re playing the next day. There are a lot of factors [as to why] most transactions are done in the summer. We were ready to go on January 1, and I think sitting here we spent the whole window trying to get business done. We brought three players in that we are certain will contribute to the club.”
Lange was also asked about the recruitment structure at Spurs, something he and Scott Munn have been working on revamping over the past year or so. Spurs have retooled their recruitment towards a more data-driven analytical approach, and have made significant changes to the scouting and recruitment staff. Lange said all of this was to further a very important goal.
“We are building here a very strong and robust evidence-based infrastructure. So for instance we arrived with [Kinsky] at the beginning of the market, and when we presented [the data to Ange] and the same with Mathys as well, I think they were very impressed with the detailed knowledge we have of them and what they have done in their career so far, how we anticipate that they will perform in our style and system, how much we know about their character, etc. And then of course, Ange [Postecoglou], myself, the scouting department, we have meetings, and every transfer we have done since I have arrived at the club, Ange has a conversation with the player as well. So we are building here, and this is a key component to be successful in the future as well, a very strong infrastructure in the club as well because the leagues we are in are very competitive.”
Lange also talks about the loan system, and Tottenham’s new preference to send promising young players like Yang Min-hyeok and Will Lankshear out to other clubs to get experience, and how that can pay dividends in the future.
It’s a really interesting interview. Lange sure sounds like he knows what he’s doing, and listening to him talk makes the social media chatter about Spurs purposefully leaving business late and him as an incompetent recruiter more and more ridiculous. If anything, the main takeaway from Lange’s interview is that fans need to (and apologies for this) “trust the process.”
