Transfer Rumours Tottenham in the January Transfer Window - 2014/15 Edition

Figured this thread was more than overdue so here it is...

Who do we need in January? Should anyone be off from our current roster? Discuss it all here!

Permanent:

IN
Dele Alli - MK Dons (£5m)

OUT
Kyle Naughton - Swansea City (£5m)
Benoit Assou-Ekotto - Released



Loans:

IN - Returns
DeAndre Yedlin - Seattle Sounders
Milos Veljkovic - Middlesbrough

IN - New


Out - New
Grant Hall - Blackpool (season)
Milos Veljkovic - Charlton Athletic (season)
Dominic Ball - Cambridge United (season)
Kenny McEvoy - Colchester United (season)
Nathan Oduwa - Luton Town (season)
Emmanuel Sonupe - St Mirren (season)
Jordan Archer - Millwall (season)
Aaron Lennon - Everton (season)
Dele Alli - MK Dons (season)

 

well, we could really do with a quality centre back, but i can't see that happening. An experienced cm would be good too (parker type, but without all the pirrouhettes).

Would be happy to see ade, paulinho, and tbh kaboul go, but can't see it (esp the club captain obvs).

 

Ideally...

In: Benteke, Delph, Nastasic, Holtby(if possible to return him), Yedlin.

Out: Kaboul, Naughton, Chiriches(probably doesn't want to be 2nd choice right back), Dembele, Paulinho, Capoue, Lennon, Ade.

I know it won't happen but oh well, I can dream.

 

In: Benteke, Bony.
Out: Adebayor, Soldado.

If Lennon goes, then I'd like to see us bring in Redmond from Norwich. A similar youngster to directly replace Kaboul would be nice, too.

 

If settle for either one of Benteke or Bony, although Bony seems to be more durable. Both? Nice thought, but where would that leave Kane?

 

Out: Kaboul, Chiriches, Capoue, Adebayor, Soldado (only if the price is right and we have a bloody decent replacement lined up)
In: Bony, Luuk De Jong

 

In - Austin (said this when he was at Burnley. Would compliment Kane as well as being able to rotate without losing work rate and goals)
Holtby (backup guile for Eriksen and cover for CM)

Out - Ade, Paulinho, Dembele

 

Spurm, granted Austin is banging them in for QPR at moment but would he fit in with our system?
Seeing as he is a six yard box predator and we have issues getting any decent service to our frontline.

 

Yedlin granted a UK work permit, according to the Sunday rags. So, it looks like The Road Runer arrives next month. Meep! Meep!....

 

Out...

Ade...No one in premier League or any of the major leagues (Spanish Italian German or French) will buy him and he is sensible enough to avoid the racist hell hole that is the Russian Leagues... so unless a club from America or a Saudi club come in for him he will still be with us come Feb.

Naughton may attract interest and would probably be interested in leaving

Lennon wants first team football so would go and will attract interest...will be sorry to see him leave as he has been good for us and still has a lot to offer imo

Kaboul needs to go to a slower league...maybe the french league...will be sorry to see him leave but simply not played well bar the gooner match

Chiriches is woeful imho...we should accept any kind of offer for him

Paulinio ... see Chiriches

Holtby ... doesn't want to sit on our bench and won't be a first choice

Total 7

Buy

Benteke...bullies defences and would link up well with Kane and or Soldado...does blow a bit hot and cold at times (but could be cos he is in a ****e team) and has a history of injuries...no way will villa sell in January
Bony...very similar but more consistent with goal scoring (but swansea are much better than villa)...can not see Swansea selling in January

If either were to move we would face competition from Arsenal and liverpool who are said to be interested

My choice for a DM would be Song...on loan at west ham but Barca might be willing to sell in January...knows prem...has shown he still has it...and we need it

 

Out
Naughton - about to become our third-choice right back, which makes him surplus to requirements
Paulinho - he seems unsuited to our team regardless of manager, formation, or tactics
Chiriches - while he has his good moments, he isn't going to be first choice and he's in the way of Dier getting games
Adebayor - doesn't fit into the team, and his wages could be better invested elsewhere

In
Rabiot - we allegedly agreed a deal for him, and on paper he sounds like a good bit of business for central midfield, especially with Bentaleb headed to the ACoN
Martinez - especially as the deal we're supposedly putting together sees Soldado loaned the other way, so if he regains his scoring touch that helps us either next summer or next season

 

No-one mentioning my choice to replace Ade- Berahino.
Already has an understanding with Kane (England U21) and more likely to be available than others mentioned.

PNP- totally agree re: Redmond, he looks quality.

 

We've been linked with an early bid for Berahino again today, B&W.
He'd be very expensive though, I would've thought.

 

He's young -21, which fits the profile of Levy buys. Some concern over his lifestyle after getting nicked for drink driving. Can't see that going down too well with M.P.

 

I think with January transfers, unless a world class player becomes available you have to look mainly at experienced Prem players who won't need too much time adapting to new surroundings.

In:

A solid CB; Shawcross or Ashley Williams I think would be a good addition, even if both do have a bit of a dirty side to them.

Bony will be out of our price range now I reckon, he's been consistently scoring and Swans would want premium dollar if they were to sell in Jan, wouldn't surprise me if he had a £30m price tag. So I think Benteke would be more of a realistic target, his injuries over the past 18 months will have decreased his price tag and I think he could be got for around £15m, possibly less or maybe even small sum plus player(s) deal. Berahino could also be an option but similar to Bony, I think his price tag is rising and WBA would be very reluctant to sell in Jan.

Moussa Sissoko is someone I've taken a liking too in recent months, he has great stamina and seems a good box-to-box style midfielder with decent technique who could work well alongside Bentaleb and compete/ rotate with Mason and Stambouli.

Depending on departures, maybe go for an experienced/ aging CF and CM, can't think of any names right now but players who have 12-18 months of top flight football left in them and can come into the side when needed while sharing experience with some of our younger lads.

Out:

Kaboul - Such a shame to see a great CB decline so badly after a long injury. If he were 100% he'd be a starter but unfortunately I can't see him getting back to his best and a move away would be good for him, Serie A would suit him.

Chiriches - Half decent RB to be fair but a shocking CB. With Yedlin's arrival plus Walker's return to fitness, his services at RB won't be needed anymore.

Ade - On his day one of the best but just too inconsistent these days.

Soldado - For one reason or another the guy just can't reach his ability in the Prem. A shame as he really is a great striker.

Dembele - One of the most naturally talented players you'll ever see but seems to lack the confidence to take control of a game and is already behind Nabs, Mason and now Stambouli I think.

Paulinho - Had such high hopes for him but he can't make the match day squad. Time's up.

Capoue - Tough one as he's looked good in most of the games he's played but I think he's picking up too many injuries and with the form of Bentaleb and Mason, plus Stambouli when he gets his chance, it might be hard for Capoue to get back in the team and so I'd consider letting him go if we can get our money back.

Naughton - Been a model pro since he joined us, many would have moaned to the press about lack of game time but he has always got his head down and in fairness performed fairly well when in his natural RB position but with Walker's return and Yedlin's arrival, it might see his game time even more limited.

I know there's more outs than ins which may seem questionable but most of these guys have failed to impact games way too often and so their departures won't actually be missed too much despite many of them being "big names". The money generated can hopefully add some quality and not just quantity to the squad.

 

I'd split the outs into two categories, players who I want us to get rid of pretty much regardless of selling price, and players who I'd sell with no regrets if the right offer came in.

Outs regardless:

Paulinho - its never looked like working for him in a Spurs shirt and I don't think its ever going to happen for him here. He's taking up squad space in a position we's well down in the pecking order in so I'd have him gone in a heartbeat. Potentially he might go to Italy or back to Brazil I think.

Kaboul - sad to see him go in a way but his decline post-injury has never really looked in doubt, despite the odd good game. He'll never reach his peak again I fear, which is a shame because he was really very good. Could be a potential QPR signing, or maybe used as a makeweight with another club.

Chiriches - a player who I actually really like watching, even if he has my heart constantly in my mouth when he's at CB. I've always wondered if he'd make a good DM. Always looks like he's one step away from a big mistake, and he mostly is unfortunately. If he became more consistent mentally, he'd be a top top CB but I think those inconstancies and losses of concentration will prevent him from making it truly big time. There appears to be fairly concrete interest from Italy (and I could see him fitting in at a Spanish club too) so I don't think we'd struggle to find an interested party to sell to.

Adebayor - such a difficult character. A genuinely mercurial footballer but only when he wants to be, and he doesn't want to be enough these days. Its a shame to see someone with such sheer footballing ability suffer from such a bad attitude. He has obviously had personal problems that have disrupted him too, both with his family and with the events surrounding the Togo bus shooting, but there seems to be an element of bad character in him that is beyond forgiving, whatever his personal problems and difficulties. It doesn't help that he is one of the highest wage earners and senior players in the squad too, as he is also setting a bad example from that position. Given his long track record of 'difficulties' we may struggle to get rid. Maybe a loan to QPR might put him in the shop window as Harry might be able to get the best of him again, I doubt they'd want to buy though.

Out for the right fee (and as long as the right players are bought in too):

Dembele - Les Ferdinand was spouting some odd stuff the other week on Europa League punditry duty, but he was bang on about Dembele when he said that he can take two or three players out of the game but then he lets players right back in again. He's just too limited in his play, and its all mental limitations. Plant Christian Eriksen's footballing brain into him and you'd have one hell of a player, but as it is Dembele will never be anything but a safety player, good for retaining possession and shutting down a game, but not good enough to chase a game down. He too often lacks that killer pass or takes too much time to make decisions, and he's not quite good enough defensively to make up for that.

Naughton - much maligned on here and sometimes rightly so. He's certainly not a LB. As a second choice RB he's perfect, seemingly happy to fight for his 1st team place and play the occasional cup game in the meantime, but when he's had to play regularly its obvious that he's not first team quality for us. Credit to him for getting his head down and working hard in a position that clearly wasn't his own for long periods of time, but I think it'll be better for us and for Naughton when Yedlin comes in and Naughton goes out - we'll have a reserve RB with far more potential, and Naughton will hopefully have the opportunity to advance his career in a starting position.

I could also potentially see one of Townsend or Lennon leaving. Lennon looked effective at providing width when we had no proper RBs but the difference now Walker is back is clear to see. Pochettino may deem him surplus to requirements now. Townsend can be immensely frustrating, he's clearly another talented footballer like Dembele, but his decision making is well off at times. He has got the ability to vary his game and prove a weapon on either flank IMO, but he needs to use that variety of ability. What he has on his side is relative youth - at 23 with pace and two good feet he could become a very good player for us, but he needs to start developing his decision making now if we're going to see that at Spurs. Lennon, for all his hard work and rapport with the fans over the years, is not going to get any better now I fear. I have a feeling Capoue might go too, if we bring in more than one CM.

Who to bring in is a potential minefield for us. We need a striker, a wide player, a deep midfielder, and a CB if we lose both Kaboul and Chiriches. I'm not sure we'll get all that done on January, although if we can (and we get it right) that'd be great.

As far as the wide player goes I'd really like Nathan Redmond, although there's likely to be a lot of competition for his signature if he looks like being sold. He's looked like having a quick brain whenever I've watched him, he's a player who can beat a man or two and then make a good decision. He's also versatile, in the same way I think Townsend is - capable on either flank. Shaqiri's name has been bandied around, and I like him. I think he's far better than someone like Lamela, for example. The fee being mooted is well within our capability of pay but there will be an awful lot of competition for his signature if he goes, in terms of a fee we're likely to lose a bidding war against many clubs, and we can't offer huge wages and/or CL football. We'd be more of a risk for him than he would be for us, and I don't think we've a chance of getting him.

For strikers its tricky. If we were to be in the market for a first choice striker I'd go straight to Swansea and try and get Bony. I don't trust Benteke's injury and consistency record. Bony would be a success with us I think. I would avoid Jay Rodriguez like the plague unless he can prove that he can return from injury fit and the player he was beforehand, we can't afford an expensive mistake in that regard. If we really really want him in a year or so then fine but not now, or even in the summer. Berahino would be a nice buy if we were to go on trusting Kane as the main man up front, but he would be another that would command a big fee. One for the future could be Dybala at Palermo, but he'd probably be one to buy then loan straight back for another year or so, and he might prove a hard one to get because of price.

Central midfield is another difficult case. Its very much an issue of getting the right players. I wouldn't be surprised to see us go back in for Schneiderlin, and I'd also not be surprised to see Southampton say no again. We've been linked with Rabiot at PSG but its difficult to know how much to read into these things. I'd have no interest in loaning him (or anyone else) in, as some sources seem to be claiming. Bringing back Carrick to provide some experience might be a smart move but I doubt we'd be able to make it happen, I think LVG likes him.

Whatever happens I expect a fair amount of player turnover, maybe as many as 5 or 6 out and 3 or 4. I'd normally be opposed to doing that mid season, but as this was always going to be a transitional year anyway I'd rather get as many moves as possible done now so that Pochettino can have as much time with the players over the summer as possible. I don't think we'll see any big-name shock outgoings like Lloris, Eriksen or Kane, or even Lamela or Soldado.

 

Jesus Christ !!!!!

 

I think he's busy this time of year!...

 

Superstar?

 

So the story goes. They obviously treated superstars differently a couple of thousand years ago!...