Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction

It will never be possible to know for certain how Ndombele or Lo Celso, or even to a certain extent Sessegnon, would have turned out. I'm not saying given a full year or two under Poch they would've been Balon d'Or winners, but at the same time they were signed for a specific manager with a very specific style of play, and the three managers we've had since have been about as far removed from that as is humanly possible.

The other painful truth is that I'm not convinced anyone - certainly not Levy and to a lesser extent Poch but even most fans - was either aware of or panicking enough about the true state of that 2019/20 squad. The scale of the rebuild, with the gift of hindsight, was colossal, and one in which any new signing would have severely struggled to settle quickly.

Rose and Wanyama were completely finished as professional athletes. Jan was already on a rapid decline having suffered multiple niggling injuries the season before. Our second most important player was desperate to leave the club, as was our only competent CB.

We'd gotten so used to Poch performing miracles with that group that fans (and pundits) went into the season accepting that a title bid was probably beyond us but that after the summer spend and the CL final, most assumed top 4 and a trophy run was almost a foregone conclusion. We were all so badly wrong in our judgement of the true state of the squad as well as the true impact of that defeat to Liverpool. The fact Levy went and appointed Maureen and then didn't back him at all in January only confirms that he was totally lost to the hubris of the idea that the squad was better than it really was.

So who knows, maybe giving Poch more time to turn things around would've seen him work out a way to get the best out of Tanguy and Gio especially, just like he worked out a way to get Sissoko and Winks to pretend to be footballers? I was totally against sacking him when we did, and my fury was compounded when I saw his smug successor striding into the training ground barely 12 hours after Poch had cleared his desk. Almost every single significant decision we've made since that day has been a poor one. And not 'poor' in the sense of 'in hindsight'....poor in that almost every fan and his dog was calling bullshit long before the decision had been made.

1) Appointing Maureen in the first place.
2) Only signing Steven Bergwijn that January
3) Giving Maureen Doherty, Hojbjerg and Rodon to "upgrade" on Trippier, Dembele and Vertonghen.
4) Sacking Maureen on the eve of a cup final.
5) Spending two months pissing about looking for a new manager, only to appoint Nuno.
6) Appointing another 'finishing touch' manager to a squad in desperate need of a project.
7) (Currently) undecided whether or not to properly back that manager.

Bravo

 

Literally no-one thought our squad needed a massive rebuild in 2019-20. Pochettino had just been given exactly the players he wanted. Mourinho openly stated that he was excited at the opportunity to work with the squad so why would he have wanted a big splurge in his first window? Since we had no DoF at the time it is obvious that Mourinho must have approved the signings of Bergwijn, Hojbjerg, Doherty and Rodon.
So the problems arise from Levy trusting the advice he got from Pochettino and Mourinho which turned out to be wrong so it was not surprising they got sacked.
After that Levy actually learned a lesson and got Paratici in. Since then most of our footballing decisions seem to have been taken by him. We've signed Romero, Gil, Emerson, Spence, Sarr, Kulesevski, Bentancur, Lenglet, Perisic, Bissouma, Richarlison and Forster, few of whom seem obvious mistakes (and who could make a plausible team) How is that not backing the manager? Or do you want us to repeat the mistake of signing the players the manager wants?

 

The main thing about that summer was Poch got the players he wanted, but not the players he needed

Wanyama needed to be replaced, either by going all-in with Skippy or signing a direct replacement - yet neither happened
We needed a backup striker after selling Janssen and letting Llorente's contract expire - we didn't sign one
We needed an attacking RB (who wasn't Aurier, who was already an obvious liability) after letting Trippier go - we didn't sign one
We definitely needed a CB as Verts and Toby were starting to decline, Sanchez was out of favour already, and Foyth was being converted into an RB - we didn't sign one
We probably needed cover on the wings, due to Lamela being perpetually injured - we didn't sign one until Bergwijn arrived the following January

At the very least, that summer we should have added a DM and CB, and probably had a crack at RB as well, so the team might have actually had some players who could win the possession the other signings were supposed to exploit

 

That I certainly agree on. Hence the Time Machine comment for Poch to give his head a wobble over the right targets and signings.

Though I would say we needed at least one of Ndombele or Lo Celso to be the player we hoped they’d be. Dembele’s departure the previous January and Eriksen’s inevitable departure the following January left a huge hole of creativity/ midfield dominance required in the squad.

 

Last night Spanish reports claimed Madrid will target Porro in the summer if he doesn’t leave this January.

Portuguese reports claim we’ll make one last attempt to sign him in the coming days.

Porro to Madrid in the summer it is then.

 

Poch alluded to a massive rebuild on more than one occasion before and after the CL final, the most famous being the 'new furniture for a new house' press conference.

His cardinal son was as HBIC and DH have said - he prioritised players he wanted over players he needed. As a result, we went into that season with one senior RB (who was a total clown), one recognised striker, a broken LB, a broken DM, a playmaker who wanted to leave, a CB on the decline and another CB who wanted to leave. The signings we made that summer didn't cover any of those positions, unless he somehow envisioned converting Sessegnon back to a traditional LB role - a position he hadn't played in over 2 years.

Fast forward 3 years, and we still need a new CB, new RB, new LB, new DM, new creative player and we also need a new GK on top of that.

It is sheer madness and while you are correct to point out Paratici's successes, the summer window added little if anything to the actual starting XI.

 

Eredivise Rando Watch
Good news! Well, I think it's good news...

Jeunes Football are linking us with AZ's Swedish left winger Jesper Karlsson, who they are willing to allow to leave for €20m this window

While this season isn't up to the standards he had last year, where he bagged 15 goals and 13 assists in the Eredivisie (as opposed to two each this season), I can certainly see the appeal given he's capable of playing both as a tricksy winger who cuts inside from the left to take potshots from the edge of the area or as a more traditional winger who can hug the touchline and cross the ball into the area, coupled with set piece delivery

However, the real reasons to be interested are twofold: first because Brighton are looking at him, which is certainly reason to act now before he'll cost us £45m+ in a couple of seasons time, and also he has the same agent as Deki

Certainly looks like a good option to give Son a rest

 

The next 9 days should tell us a lot about what is happening with Spurs. There are so many rumours around the club right now it's impossible to know where the truth lies. Alistair Gold is still talking about the need to back Conte which wouldn't make sense if Conte is a short term manager. Others are saying we are just looking for cheap transfers and loans as sort of make weights until the end of the season.

It's difficult not to get strung up with all the stories circulating and it certainly has nothing to do with enjoying football. I just hope we get a decent performance tomorrow against Fulham but I wouldn't bank on it.

 

Zaniolo Watch
According to Di Marzio (who has been shown his backside when talking about Spurs this weekend, just saying...) we made an offer of a loan with a £25m obligation if we qualify for the Champions League, which Roma rejected as that sounds uncannily like the club realising that Zaniolo is likely going to be a pup

 

The issue with Conte right now

...no, this isn't a multiple choice question...

...is that he won't commit without investment, yet the board won't invest without commitment. And this is the issue: both parties are right - the board would be stupid to invest £50m+ on players this month for a manager whose mind is elsewhere, but Conte's mind is elsewhere because the board don't trust him to be here come the end of the summer transfer window, and that is certainly reflected in what Romano said about our offer for Zaniolo being a loan with an obligation if we qualify for next season's CL as, on the surface, that looks like we're aiming to sign a player Conte wants but dodge a commitment to keeping him beyond the end of the season on the assumption nobody else does

Obviously, if Conte does walk at the end of the season there's players who can be signed this window who pretty much any manager can work with, as signing a CB would work for anyone barring Ossie Ardiles, and it does have to be said that Porro (or Gusto, given his name came up recently) would be a RB/RBW that anyone other than Jacques Santini could use, but if we have Paratici looking for players with one eye on somebody else wanting them that's going to get nasty PDQ

 

Re Porro I don't think it is all that simple, which is possibly why negotiations are dragging and we appear to be reluctant to meet the release clause. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Levy and Paratici are openly wondering what a different manager would be able to get out of Spence instead of spending the youngster into irrelevance by signing another youngster to move ahead of him in the pecking order.

Same can be said to a lesser extent about Zaniolo. Perhaps some of the suits upstairs are wondering if a new manager could turn Bryan into the star we were promised when we parted with £27m plus Lamela for his services, instead of spending the same again to render him an irrelevance too.

And these questions also hinge on Conte committing to the club - this isn't just about backing a manager who is here for at least the medium term, it is about backing that manager with players he technically doesn't even need. And that is a huge step to take for close to £80m when that money could be invested in a proper CB and new GK and a progressive manager brought in who actually knows how to coach youngsters.

 

Jose’s confirmed Zaniolo’s asked to leave but that they’ve yet to receive an acceptable offer to sell.

 

David Ornstein says Kane is open to start talks over signing a contract extension next month despite our poor form as he wants to succeed with Spurs.

We honestly do not deserve this man. Not a single person would begrudge him a move to a silverware winning side. Man must be a sucker for punishment like us fans.

Give him a blank cheque and tell him to write a figure, whatever he writes, don’t you dare haggle it, Levy.

 

Ornstein is a massive gooner so I call wum on this story. Build up our hopes only to have them crushed in July.

 

Ally Gold and Dan KP jumped on the story afterwards.

 

The rumour is that the discussions are ongoing with the Qataris and they want Conte to stay (as Kane is said to)....as the main alternatives seem to be Poch and Tuchel, who are the last 2 coaches they sacked at PSG. If true, that would explain a number of things that seem odd right now.

From outside, the Levy/Conte relationship looks to be in its final throes, yet we're looking at Zaniolo. Of course, it could end in the old favourite of... "We tried, but..." and Conte leaving in a huff..as one might normally expect...

...but right now, any number of outcomes seem possible.

 

If he leaves in a huff I won’t lose much sleep, he’s holding this squad back considerably if we’re being honest. I think we’re looking at a few players anyway, problem is we just have no intention to pay their asking prices.

Romano’s literally just tweeted about us going for a new round of talks for Porro. A deal that could’ve been done on the first day is in its 23rd day of haggling, despite Sporting’s stance being pretty clear… Tottenham, eh?

 

I'm beyond hope now...and getting closer to saying "That's it. I don't care"...then I'll talk to a mate or one of my brothers...and go on a 20 minute rant about the ****ing mess we're in...who am I kidding?

The only certainty right now is that we're in a ****ing mess and if it stays like this, results won't improve. Poch started our improvement by uniting the club - fans, players, coach, owners...and without that unity, the thing's ****ed.

 

I think many are at (or close to) that stage right now, I am. I mean I care… but like, not that much.

 

I watch precious little football, Spurs apart. I've been to the stadium once since Covid and currently, have no desire to go to a match, to watch the team play and often have to make myself watch them from home. Mrs B's working lates right now, if she wasn't. I'm not sure that I'd be watching tonight.

When Sugar was the owner, I was angry from 1995 until he left. Nearly 30 years since have taken their toll.