If we get this Stambouli bloke then surely its Sandro and Holtby most likely to be off? IIRC Pochettino wants a smaller squad anyway so one in, two out would make sense. Purely from watching YouTube, Stambouli looks in the Dembele mode (strong and technically good) which is no bad thing, but maybe a bit more defensively aware and willing, and possibly even a better passer, although its impossible really to tell without properly watching him over the course of a season or two. Could be an astute pickup at £5/6 million if Southampton really were wanting £20 million plus for Schneiderlin. Speaking of Dembele, he's another I could see leaving. One of him or Paulinho at any rate. Squad trimming and all that.
I'm getting more and more convinced we know what we're doing in general. The Dier signing epitomized it. Dier turns up on Baldini's radar, we/Dier push for a move to us, due presumably to some combination of Spurs record of turning young players into stars (Modric, Bale) and Pochettino's (Lallana, Shaw). Levy pushes successfully for a very low price, dur partly to Dier wanting to move to us. Pochettino prefers young players and has a track record of developing them. We sell a few of these 5 or ten million pound signings for 50 or 100 million down the road, and pay for the stadium. Meanwhile, in the short term, we've got two teams to get through a packed schedule filled with players who tend to be young and good characters (former captains). They're also just plain big, and have been trained to be in better shape than most. So we're going to be a tough proposition physically and psychologically, and fans should feel like they're getting their money's worth with a team of rising young stars playing aggressive, attractive football. We shall see.
Stambouli seems to confirm the idea that Pochettino has to have a solid DM in his system, and the combination of Capoue and Sandro have too many injuries to count on either one getting through the season. From The Cartilage Free Captain http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnatio...m-hotspur-transfer-rumours-benjamin-stambouli "If you're like me, you have zero idea who he is and what he can do. Fortunately for us, Bryan A. writes for our site! And in addition to operating his own ice cream truck, he's also an expert on French football. Here is what he thinks of our newest acquisition. Stambouli is, essentially another Etienne Capoue. The 24 year-old Frenchman is capable of playing both defensive midfield (his preferred position) and center back. His work rate is unquestioned and in he was essentially vice captain at MHSC for the last couple years. Unfortunately, Stambouli can be a bit reckless in the tackle and tends to pick up more than his fair share of yellow cards, though he's often smart enough to avoid a red. He's talented enough on the ball and likes to dribble forward, but this occasionally led to some bad giveaways that left his back line exposed. He played the last couple seasons with Remy Cabella, now of Newcastle, in front of him and the two formed a good tandem in the spine of Montpellier's team. For whatever his faults may be, Stambouli knows he's not a creative engine and looks to get the ball to teammates that can create as quickly as possible. That doesn't mean he's a John Obi Mikel type of passer, merely that he knows he's best served breaking up the play, getting the ball to playmakers and then getting himself into dangerous positions. I have to imagine that Pochettino sees Stambouli as basically like for like cover for Etienne Capoue and it's hard to disagree. While he's not nearly as big as Capoue, his skill set would fit very well into Tottenham Hotspur's team. So let's work out what this deal means for our club. Since Stambouli is a defensive midfielder and not a delicious Italian sandwich, it almost certainly means the end of our interest in Southampton defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. We haven't seen any figures yet, but I would guess a big reason we're signing him is that this deal is significantly cheaper than the 80 gagillion double dollars Southampton was asking for Schneiderlin. This does not mean that the club is cheap, necessarily. Considering our midfield situation, which includes the suddenly impressive Etienne Capoue, even if we sell some midfielders, paying more than £12 million for Schneiderlin is probably not the smartest use of the club's transfer budget.
I like how we have gone about our business this summer albeit we haven't added a star to our squad. For once it seems like the manager will either play players or will sell them. Under previous managers we had too many players frozen out collecting their wages but not getting any game time at all which was bad for all concerned.
I'm guessing the potential sale of Sandro is purely due to his injury record? Although I'm a massive fan of his, injury plagued players are something we always seem to have settled for at spurs. There's been some quality players over the years, but the injuries they've been hampered with have been very frustrating. However, it's a tough call. Replacing a fit Sandro will not be easy. I still don't fully get this homegrown malarkey. - are we in a position (should this Stambouli fella sign) where we now need to get rid of two that aren't home grown? Or am I way off? If sandro and holtby are the two, we are losing 2 passionate and positive characters. Not to mention Dawson of course! There's a lot to be said for personalities like theirs and we still need some in the squad as it's good for morale. Hmm. Interesting couple of days coming up. I don't think we're done yet either. I have a feeling that Daniel might try and get someone from Real Madrid after his ice bucket challenge comments where he said "I nominate someone who owes us a lot - Florentino Perez"
King, I don't think it matters that we haven't signed a star because Utd are full of them and look where they are. Torres is a star and look what he did. To me morale is more important than star value.
Zeki Fryers is being linked with a move to Palace. Hopefully it's a loan, as he won't get much game time with us.
Paulinho played the number 10 role against Limassol and that is perhaps where Pochettinno sees him playing this season in the attacking three rather than at cm. It looks like Holtby is going so our attacking three options will be - Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli, Lennon, Paulinho and Townsend. Ceballos will surely be loaned out or sold. That leaves us with centre midfield. If Stambouli signs we will have Capoue, Bentaleb, Sandro, Dembele, and Stambouli. Thats one too many. Surely one of those will have to be sold or loaned out. In Defence we have Bae and Fryers that are surplus to requirements. Fryers is said to be interesting Crystal Palace and Bae were going to struggle to get rid of. Finally will we sign Welbeck or Remy ? If we do, either Lennon or Townsend or Possibly Paulinho will have to be moved on. It certainly looks to be a busy last few days of the transfer market...........
If we sign Remy, it would have to be an overseas player. If you include Benny we already have too many. Which disappoints me greatly. I liked the fact that we had an English core.
I've liked what I've seen of Zeki for the most part, but realistically, where on earth is the poor lad going to fit in with us? Rose signed a new 5 year deal and Davies comes in for £8m, that's two young left backs already ahead of him and in terms of CB we have Jan, Younes, Eric, Fede and Vlad (plus Milos), none are reaching their final couple of years and so I think looking at it from that point of view, maybe an actual transfer will be best suited for Zeki. I just can't see him ever actually being able to break into the first team squad on a consistent basis unless we get an abundance of injuries.
They're in discussions with Lassana Diarra, so can't see that one happening. He's much too good for them anyway, should really be playing for a team competing for honours, unlike us!
Cameron Lancaster, a 21-year-old striker who made one appearance for us during a time blighted with injuries, has signed for Stevenage. He was released in the summer and starts today in their League Two clash with AFC Wimbledon.
It's not so long since we had Keane and Berbatov up front Robspur but I take it that you don't agree, c'est la vie.
