I think Bissouma is top 4 quality, Arsenal and Chelsea were also linked with him and many considered him the best CM in the league that wasn’t playing for a top 4/6 side. He’s just been horrendously mismanaged by Conte, said it before but it reeks of AVB-Paulinho. I’d also say Skipp, Sarr and Gil are players who can develop into top 6 or 4 players but under this manager we’ll never see it. Arguments for Spence too. There are probably only about 5-6 players plus those out on loan that I don’t think are good enough at all and most don’t need to be selected. So for me, whilst we need a few additions that we can definitely hold Levy accountable for, Conte is significantly under performing and is arguably the biggest single problem right now… which feels mad to say if I’m being honest.
I'm not remotely optimistic due to the uncertainty hovering over everything right now as we essentially have a caretaker manager in place. However, there are positions that need fixing irrespective of who is in the dugout come July. Two CBs, a GK and a RWB being the most glaringly obvious. Another attacking player is also high up the priority list, but I do hear the logic in the argument that a different manager might be able to get more out of options like Gil and Richarlison. With the news coming out last night about Skriniar, we should get him in to replace Dier asap. Him and Porro would represent a solid window imo. Last year demonstrated the wisdom in signing one or two genuinely good players instead of the scattergun approach of the summer. We can sort LCB in the summer. An attacker would be a welcome addition but ideally not Zaniolo as his injury record is just made for Spurs. If we can get a GK to at least commit to joining in June, that would be a huge development and relieve that pressure. So a CB and RWB is the absolute minimum. CB, RWB, AM and GK would be incredible and almost certainly not happening. There is also the considerable problem that we have nine or ten players who needed to leave permanently in the summer, and they are to a man all still at the club.
I think we will sign two players, I doubt that they will be the 'right' players but I think that a CB and an attacking MF will join us but they won't have the impact Bentancur & Kulu had. Zaniolo will almost certainly be one of them and I think the CB will be a deadline deal that leaves us wondering why him!
You could try to get the Berbatov/Modric type players : 1. Good, but not deemed good enough by the current wealthier clubs (squad evaluation) to usurp your bid 2. Will be using you as a "shop window" , but in the event your progression matches theirs (being in the CL etc) , may give you a few more seasons of service than expected
Nice to hear Martin Tyler telling us to give up on signing Porro because of a Chelsea link he apparently made up on commentary last night Remember, according to World of Hotspur, ENIC have the media in our pocket and use them to control narratives...
Sky Italy are saying our loan with obligation offer for Zaniolo is dependent of if we reach the CL next season… So that’ll just be a loan then.
this is exactly where I’m at. Without going over what’s been said a million times, I can’t bring myself to be part of the “Conte out” group because of what you say here. Yes, he could make alterations and changes, but there’s nothing he can do about the abundance of individual errors we keep seeing. There’s a point where it’s more than just his stubbornness, and it also comes down to the fact that some of the players have either aged, deteriorated, or just aren’t good enough. normally by now I’d be in the “sack the manager” camp, but we’ve been here before many times. It’s gets to the stage where it cannot keep being the manager. There’s blame in all 3 areas. Levy, conte and the players. we’re caught between a rock and hard place, but I don’t want to see us looking for a new manager in this instance, especially when the one we have has produced results at other clubs in recent years. I just feel we’ll be doing the same again in 18 months and I’m sick of it. I just wish conte would come out and say he’d be prepared to sign a new deal, as it then puts the ball in Levy’s court. Unfortunately this stalemate scenario is like a game of poker and it’s really not helpful for anyone. But if conte isn’t sure about the aspirations on the pitch, I can understand why he’s not committing. Who’ll blink first? it’s a nightmare situation.
Conte does this stuff. He's a bloody nightmare for owners and Director of Football. Daniel Levy is an acknowledged ****ing pain in the arse to deal with. He'll agree something, backtrack, re-negotiate and then call the deal off. It's a terrible pairing but Levy's painted himself into a corner. Sacking one of the most successful coaches in the world...less than 2 years after sacking another of the most successful coaches in the world...and just over 3 years after sacking our most loved coach in decades...says something's not right at the club, beyond the coach. Fool a Spurs fan once, shame on you... fool a Spurs fan twice, shame on you... fool a Spurs fan three times, shame on you... fool a Spurs fan 4 times and....." I say, there seems to be a bit of an issue here, Daniel?"
it is what it is. But regardless of individual player scenarios/fees etc, why haven’t we signed anyone yet? It’s been abundantly clear that there’s several positions that need strengthening (and have for some time)… but we’re leaving it late again. on January 1st we knew we needed to address the issues at RB/RWB, as well as a CB. But we’ve waited almost a month, and played multiple games in that time. Same old story.
I think there’s a lot happening behind the scenes that we are unaware of. Are we waiting for the investment from Qatar? Is levy refusing to spend big due to the uncertainty of the manger’s position? I would imagine if Levy is aware that Conte will be gone by the summer, he would be refusing to buy key players that the new manager might not want. I believe the unrest behind the scenes is affecting the transfer policy at present.
He was set to join PSG in the summer, but they couldn't offload somebody (IIRC it was Icardi) to comply with Ligue 1 FFP before the Serie A window shut There's a sentence that goes places...
They haven’t renewed Ramos’ contract yet so I wonder how this potentially impacts that if Skriniar does go there. Gonna cling to that small bit of hope I’ll one day see Ramos in a Spurs shirt before he calls it a day.
