I'd be wary of buying a big ticket striker in the January window due to price inflation, although that said if the player is the right one it could be worth it. So I think we'll pick up a promising youngster from somewhere for a reasonable fee, the right striker IF he comes along, and maybe a young GK and LB. Outs may well be Townsend permanently and maybe Pritchard on loan, so the latter can build fitness consistently and be ready for next year.
If we're looking for scoring options, perhaps we should consider bidding for Club Nacional de Football's U14 keeper Guillermo Centurion
"Sell everyone over 25 and buy no one. We need to make room for all the youngsters coming through our ranks" There goes my dream of playing for Spurs in my late 40s. <this is (now) Spurta>
Our track record on buying 'big strikers' would make your option of finding a promising youngster a sensible choice. The only proviso being that we need an oven ready chicken who could spell Kane fairly soon. We are suddenly so rich in young prospects that Spurs are looking like the next big thing in the PL. Klop will have to go at a right clip to keep up.
Can we just buy him for his name? A left-back? We've been linked with one in the last week, but I assume it's because we've got Amos playing there for the academy. He's not primarily a defender, so I think it might be one for the future. We're fine for that position in the main squad, in my opinion. Rose, Davies and a few other options (Vertonghen, Bentaleb) if we're struggling.
I'd like a right footed CB, a Gallas-type ideally. I'm coming around to the idea that playing Clinton and Son together as a Kane replacement may well be a better option than spending more. It seems we have about the right number of players competing for minutes now, if not one or three too many--though injuries are hard to predict, and we have some fixture congestion to look forward to. How much depends on how far we progress in the two cups we are still alive in.
That was what I was implying, I was running through positions in my head (steady now!) and I couldn't think if we had an Academy LB. The one we were linked with was 17 or 18 I think so he'd probably fit the bill in that regard.
I’d want Bentaleb to get a run of games there if we didn’t already have two good options--and even so, maybe. It’s the place he looked most comfortable.
Rico Henry, the Walsall left back we're being strongly linked with is a very talented boy. Although not resembling Bale at all physically, like Bale, he is quick and able to play as a forward player as well. Unlike Bale he is technically strong as a defender. He's scored a few goals bursting into the area at pace and has talent as a finisher as well his other gifts. He is being tipped as the 'new Ashley Cole' and whilst that is likely to bring about much lip curling, he has also been compared strongly to Dele Alli in that he may be good enough to be in a Premier League first team very soon. He's been in England squads with our young stars and if we can get him, then I'm of the view that we should do it. He fits our profile of signing (a bit like signing Kyle Walker at 18) and as long as it doesn't affect our budget for a striker then we can lend him out (or back to Walsall) and let him gain experience. Allegedly, Paul Mitchell has put our strong interest to Walsall and the lad was on social media praising Lamela's hat-trick on Thursday. If you were in his position which club would you trust your future to? When you are doing well is the time to strengthen and this lad can do just that if we sign him.
Marca are tapping up one of our players again: http://www.marca.com/futbol/sevilla/2015/12/16/56712cb5e2704efd6e8b4589.html Google Translate version (which is worth it just for the headline...): https://translate.google.com/transl...2/16/56712cb5e2704efd6e8b4589.html&edit-text=
I think Bolassie at Palace would make an excellent replacement if we decide to sell Townsend. Quick, skillful and runs all day. He would suit our style.
Him or Nabil's good friend and Algerian team mate over at Leicester would be ideal here. But neither are going to move in January and if they did it would be for more than £20-25m which is a lot to spend on a replacement for a player who has been as useful as a pacy traffic cone for three years. I also don't think we need strengthening in that area, especially with Pritchard still to return (although in his case a loan move to a PL club to build fitness would be a good idea). Cover for Kane is essential, as is a replacement for Fazio as we only have 3 competent CB's now with Dier pushed forward. I wouldn't say no to a Ryan Nelsen, experienced head type signing on a short contract to plug the gap and share his wisdom and knowledge with the youngsters towards the business end of the season. Any other signings would be a bonus. And a risk to be honest.
Palace were quoting £25m for him in the summer, and I doubt that'll be coming down in January. I've seen a few people suggest we loan Pritchard out in January so he regains match fitness ahead of next season, and apparently Chris Hughton is on the lookout for a winger at Brighton, so that could be a beneficial move for everyone involved.
...okay, scratch the Pritchard loan - N'Jie's knee injury has opened up a place in the matchday squads for a while.
Michy Batshuayi's name keeps cropping up, which is pretty funny as I signed him on FM for Spurs a couple years back and he actually done really well. Maybe I was unintentionally foreshadowing the lad's future.
Lucky for us that Yaya Sanogo isn't the beast he was on my Spurs save when he signed for The Other Lot... ***EDIT*** Sadly, this is not a new signing...
I remember him hitting about 25 league goals for Villa on one of my seasons, my scouts were basically telling me he was the saviour of football but at the time I was Palace I think so had no chance of offering enough to get him, Villa then sold him to PSG for £30m+... Suppose FM can't always be accurate!
Henry also plays as a left footed winger. The kid's like Townsend with an end product. He's a good finisher and gets his head up and passes and crosses the ball well. Ogilvie is doing well and there could definitely be space for both in the squad if they keep progressing. I can see Man City making a strong move for him as he is going to be playing at PL standard very soon and I'm not sold on either of their left backs and they need home grown players; Chelsea likewise. If we can land him it will be a similar position to when we signed Bale over Man Utd. If we have money in the development pot then this a good place to spend it.
