I’m clinging on to the hope that most of the signings Lange has been involved with have been pretty much out of the blue, so would like to think a hell of a lot of work is going on in the background that we don’t know about to get deals over the line. If we don’t make any big signings before the season starts, it shows a huge lack of ambition by the club IMO.
Hard to tell if it’s lack of a plan or that there’s just fewer leaks these days. Paratici was old school in that regard and things seemed to get out a bit more. I think if there’s one thing we all agree on it’s that the players have to be right, and if it’s the case we’re all lined up and are waiting for a domino effect, in some senses the delays could be understandable. And we signed VdV late in the window last summer and he was great so it doesn’t have to be a disaster - not to mention that Neto and Solanke for example already play in the PL so the bedding in won’t be as difficult. But earlier is always better. I’m frustrated at the lack of signings recently but trying to be sanguine about it.
For me the highest priority area for urgency is a 9. If we could get one this week then I think that’s where we most urgently need competition. Then it’s winger (right sided primarily), then left sided defender and midfielder equal 3rd. I think if we get a striker this week and then the others arrive later in the window I’m ok with it as I’m happier with the options available to us in the other positions than I am with our current options at 9. Of course ideally you get everyone early and they can tour but that’s not always possible.
I’d lean more towards the former, especially in Solanke’s case because there’s no reason he shouldn’t be a Spurs player already if he were our primary target. Wasn’t at the Euros, nor linked strongly with any other club and considering the pressing need we’ve had since Kane’s departure to sign a (good) new striker, he should’ve been in weeks/ months back - unless of course he’s not actually our primary target and whoever was we left it too late to get done. It feels like we’re heading back into Levy-esque territory of transfers after having it good with Paratici for a couple years.
A regression in approach is definitely a going concern. Suspect we’ll have to wait to wait a while to find out any behind the scenes issues. I will say that there’s a myriad of reasons why we could have been slow so far and we’re far from the only club to have done little business. The fact we’re barely hearing anything suggests to me that we’re keeping it on lockdown but of course it could mean we’re sitting on our hands.
This. It's been a strange window, to say the least. Very few eyebrow-raising transfers. Arsenal have done good business selling ESR for as much as they did and signing Calafiori to an already strong back line. Liverpool haven't signed anyone. I'm actually astonished how little they seem to be supporting their new manager. City have signed Saviniho...from themselves. United splashed £60m on some teenager and £35m on Zirkee, neither concerns me too much. Other than that, there's been the whole FFP Bermuda triangle that is of course totally legal and above board, involving the league's resident cheats (Chelsea, Villa, Forest and Leicester). All things considered, I'd say West Ham have had by a distance the most impressive window. Kilman and Fullkrug are smart additions while Summerville looks to be developing rapidly into a lethal winger.
We’re barely hearing anything because nothing’s actually happening our end, as evidenced by us basically signing just one player for the squad right now - and even that was one we were rushed into making due to Brentford’s accepted offer. Generally I don’t care what other clubs do or don’t but I’d imagine many have been relatively quiet due to the FFP obstacles they’re facing, however that’s an obstacle we don’t face, yet post-Paratici we’re acting like it is.
I think aside from quality, their wages have likely been an issue, particularly for Ndombele. Plus the timing of it being clear that it wasn’t working coincided with Covid and enormous financial issues for clubs, particularly on the continent, which has complicated matters. They still haven’t really recovered in many cases and by now the promise and quality that both showed that made us sign them was half a decade ago. So we scouted badly, offered in hindsight wages that were probably unmerited for players unproven in the PL (particularly for Ndombele), and were shafted by timing. Hopefully we have learned our lesson on the first two fronts.
It isn't quite that. It's more that we need to be honest with ourselves and face the reality that big money players who are actually worth their price tag are very unlikely to want to join us unless they see us as a stepping stone to a bigger club. Ange has explicitly ruled out signing players if they come across as wanting the latter, which leaves us with two options: One, we can pretend to be a huge and successful club and spend as much as bigger clubs do, accepting the risk that we will likely be completely fleeced and end up with B-grade rip offs of the real deal. Or, we can accept that we are not yet a huge club and compensate for this by making smart signings. I felt we did lots of the latter last summer and again in the winter, and we've continued it with the arrivals of Bergvall and Gray. I'd much sooner see the club spend £20-40m on a promising youngster than £50-60m on a 'big player', because the who's who of our record signings tells us that we are almost certainly not going to get value for money, because genuinely good players don't want to come to spurs.
Spot on CK. This in my opinion is they key we have a history of spending big money on players who generally disappoint, and without wishing to cause a wave of depression, these are 30 most expensive (in transfer fees) in the clubs history - Ndombele, Richarlison, Johnson, Romero, Maddison, Sanchez, Gray, Porro, Van De Ven, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Kulusevski, Bergwijn, Soldado, Reguilon, Son, Lamela, Bissouma, Moura, Sessegnon, Gil, Royal , Dragusin, Aurier, Bent, Modric, Bentley, Janssen, Paulinho, Bentancur. Of these about half are currently with us Gray can be excused as he has just arrived, Son is our Captain and best player, Romero and VdV are vital first team players whose value has increased (not many we can say that about). The jury is still out on most of the rest and ridiculous as this may sound Richarlison has probably been the most effective of the rest though Dragusin has looked good but had very few opportunities. Of the rest only 3 will be remembered with any affection Modric, I need say no more, Lamela had a semblance of a decent time with us, undoubtedly spoilt by his injuries, but there were a enough fabulous moments and he definitely turned up in big games when he was fit. And Lucas will always have a place in our hearts if only for 1 night in Amsterdam. But consider that Eriksen and Vertonghen don't even figure in our 50 most expensive players and that buying both Jan and Toby cost considerably less than Sanchez, and its clear that we have find the current versions of these players, and whilst I know there are many people in our fanbase who think that we must spend big (some post here), I think the above list shows that this has not exactly served us well to this point.
In our case, yes With the exception of Modric and possibly Lamela, every single time we've broken our transfer record - Rebrov, Barren Dent, Paulinho, Soldado, Sanchez, Ndombele - it's been a disaster, while our successes have always been in the AA price range
Do the same list for Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd. Apart from the prices being generally higher the outcomes are pretty similar.
If it means never being a gobsh*te whining about anyone signed for big money when they turn out like Ndombele or GLC.
Or you can sell the story of 2011-13, where if you are/become good at Spurs but do not win the PL/CL, your next stop will be at an "apex" club.
Naturally fans will be disappointed when the club signs duds but it doesn’t mean the club never signs players for big money again. You just hope they will make better decisions.
As other have stated, Spurs have historically demonstrated they are incapable of dealing at that level. So perhaps start with one "big money" signing every N seasons, and see how that goes.
cause of football inflation. What was 10 million 10 years ago is probably around 25 million now so of course the signings in the last 5 years are going to be more expensive but likely worse.
