Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction

Left-back, right-back, right-winger and two centre-halves for a couple of hundred million? Yeah...

 

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is “flattered” to be linked with Manchester United but insists he is happy at White Hart Lane. The 21-year-old has been linked with a big-money summer switch to Old Trafford after scoring 31 goals in all competitions for Spurs last term. That included 21 in the Barclays Premier League, second behind only Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, in his first full campaign in the top-flight. With United said to be at the head of a list of suitors, Kane, who is currently on duty with England Under-21s, admitted he was aware of interest but is content to remain in north London.

I’ve seen there’s interest but that’s all I know,” he told Sky Sports News HQ. “It’s flattering for other clubs to maybe be interested but I’m happy at Spurs and I’m looking forward to the future.”

When he was asked whether it would be hard to turn down United, Kane replied: “Tottenham are a big club and that’s the way people have got to see it. I’m at a big club now, I’m enjoying my football and I’m looking forward to next season.”

(taken from an article written on 19 June 2015)


Sorry for posting an old article, but I thought it would save you all a lot of time reading the same old news.

 

Wales Online report that we made an offer to Tom Carroll after his release by Swansea

...to use our facilities to train and keep fit as he looks for a new club

 

Oh great, it's that time of the season where I once again have to ask a remarkably obvious question: was Philippe Coutinho the main source of Saltypool's goals for several seasons?

No?

Then stop making the ludicrous comparison

 

Prepare To Change Your Trousers Watch
TuttoMercatoWeb

...no, wait, come back!

TuttoMercatoWeb report that we're lining up a double signing from Lazio in the shape of Thomas Strakosha and...wait for it...

...wait for it...

...Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

Now let's be honest here: double deals don't exist above a certain monetary value, for example the only double deals off the top of my head I can remember is the £9m Walker/Naughton deal and £8m Dawson/Reid rdeal, while a Trakosha/Milinkovic-Savic deal would cost us a minimum of £80m considering they're contracted until 2022 and 2024 respectively so the odds of that are lengthy to say the least...although considering Strakosha shares an agent with (among others) Gareth Bale and Saul Niguez, that's getting pushed into another digit territory

Ligue 1 Rando Watch
We've supposedly been offered the chance to sign Marseilles central midfielder Maxime Lopez for £10m, with him headed towards the final year of his contract and seemingly reluctant to extend his contract

What immediately stands out for me is that the player he can be best compared to is Harry Winks, as he plays on the right side of Marseilles' midfield three and pings the ball around yet also stays back to offer cover while Morgan Sanson is the more attack-minded player and Kevin Strootman mops up behind them, so if we are going to change to a 433 system next season and there is some interest on our end he is certainly a cost-effective option that saves us from running Winks into the ground

But mainly we owe Marseilles one hell of a Levying after the double whammy of Batshuayi and Nkoudou...

 

Was the Ardilles/Villa deal a double deal?

 

No, since they were at different clubs: Ardiles was at Huracan, while Villa was at Racing Club

 

Exodus Watch
So in recent days there's been stories of Barca, Juve and PSG having interest in Ndombele...

 

SO I guess the question is - if you could flip NDombele for a profit this summer, would you?

Pros:

• he looks like a world beater about 10% of the time, the rest of it he's injured or can't be arsed
• its a lot of money coming into a transfer pot that might be hit by not qualifying for the CL, and we do need players in this summer
• Mou clearly isn't a fan and the manager should have players he wants
• Gedson looks promising and although he isn't nominally as good as NDombele, he can probably actually play more than half an hour of football without looking like me after a 10k, is going to be available to play more often because he doesn't seem to be injured all the time, and he looks like he puts in the effort too

Cons:

• its ridiculous to bin a record signing who is young and moved to a new league, country and culture just because of an iffy debut season
• by the start of next season (whenever that is) he'll have had a significant amount of time off and hopefully he might actually be approaching something resembling fitness
• he's still young and needs time to build consistency in new surroundings, and if he can do that and stay fit, he'll be incredible for us alongside GLC
• managers aren't around for ever, especially Mou, and its silly to bin a long term project player just because the incumbent manager isn't a fan - specifically when that manager is notoriously short-term in his tenures at clubs

Compelling arguments on both sides...

 

I wouldn't personally. Especially now that Mourinho effectively has a pre-season to work with the players.

I don't buy the crock narrative for this player. Whenever he is on the ball he looks dangerous. We just need to give him the correct training, some time to adjust and a hard bastard to play next to in midfield.

 

The obvious question is that, if we play 433 next season, where would he fit in?

Lo Celso is a lock for the progressive player
NEW DM s a lock to play DM
That leaves him with the playmaking role - but Winks will be pushing him there

I don't buy the "lazy" Narrative at all, considering the smoking gun for that version of events shows Winks getting skinned twice, Dier backing off for 50 yards and Lo Celso standing back to watch but nobody is allowed to notice those - like they're supposed to ignore numerous clips of him doing things such as defending and tracking back

 

Agreed on the 4-3-3, it’s a DM and two of GLC, Winks, Tanguy, Gedson, Sissoko and Alli. If anything we’re unbalanced there and I know some people have mooted selling Alli. That’s another story.

On the laziness I don’t think it’s just that video, though it was pretty damning of both him and a few others. But there are many examples of Winks busting a gut to get back, we know GLC has the same fire in his belly Lamela does - so one instance can get overlooked. We haven’t seen that from Tanguy. There are plenty of examples for NDombele to look at for success - see the extra work Kane puts in on and off the training field, or Lamela busting a gut and offering to play for the team even though he’s not fit because he wants to help the club. The fact that NDombele has never looked fit either under the famously Puritanical Poch, or Mourinho, who put him on a special training regime months ago, suggests there’s something wrong with his attitude.

Assuming the season restarts nobody is going to be match fit because although the players will all have top fitness equipment, nutrition and advice in their homes, nothing truly replicates training on the pitch or playing. But either for the remainder of this season or coming into preseason, if we don’t see NDombele starting from a much higher base level of fitness, and it showing in his play and how long he can actually make an impact on the field (basically more than 30 mins please) then there is going to have to be some serious thinking done.

 

Add Skipp to your midfield options and possibly Amos

 

Both of them are likely DMs

In terms of CMs, I seem to recall an article kicking around a day or two ago saying that Roles will get getting another look during pre-season, and of course Harvey White's in the conversation at the moment as well - although this likely means George Marsh will be moved on, unless Orient retooling him as a RB is on our instruction

 

Spurs website are playing the Tottenham v Man City from 2015.
The only players in the starting 11 no longer with us are Walker and Eriksen
Lloris
Walker Toby Jan Davies
Lamela Eriksen Dier Dele
Son Kane

Outof the 9 remaining players all are regular starters this season.

Quite shocking tbh...hadn't realised just how stale the squad had become

 

The case against N'Dombele is mounting, what happened at his previous club and what he has shown, or hasn't shown, for Spurs, appears to be more about attitude than fitness. What's an issue now will always be an issue It doesn't take long to see what we can expect from a new signing. For example Sessegnon has not been very effective for Spurs so far but it's not through lack of trying. Lol Celso took a while to adjust following transfer and injury but his effort to make it work was always clear. The position NDombele occupies is completely crucial to the whole team. We need an inspirational player at the heart of our midfield and NDombele is clearly not that. IMO the first offer that comes in near to what we paid for him should be accepted, failing that we should take a loss and move him out. We cannot afford luxury players who flatter to deceive.

 

In the olden days stability was considered an advantage!

 

Gotta be honest ... even an old git like me can not remember a time where we kept the same 9 players stsrting for 5 years! Tbh if this was done in January it would have been 10!
Stability is a good thing...but there is also the risk of staleness if little or no new ideas and players are brought in.
Ferguson's whole empire was built on this...and he learned it from the like likes of Clough, Shankley and Nicholson.
Nicholson bought Greaves for a world record in December 1961 then over the next 5 years added phil Beal, Jimmy Robertson, jennings, knowles, Mullery, Gilzean, kinnear, venables, England, Chivers...

 

It's exceptional circumstances though. Changing the stadium. Remember this:
ARSENE WENGER has warned Tottenham fans he was left limited “financially” after the Arsenal moved out of Highbury.

The Frenchman flogged star men Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie to Premier League rivals after the Gunners' move to the Emirates in 2006.

It was bound to cause some disruption to the normal running of the team. We were just lucky it coincided with Pochettino's time. It is perhaps fairly clear in hindsight that Pochettino expected to see benefits from the constraints he had to work under during the building work and when he realised it was not going to happen straight away he became disillusioned. Reaching the final of the CL was a surprise to him as well but he probably felt it strengthened his hand to get new players but it became the moment of Spurs decline instead.

 

Look at the starting XI that won the 1973 league cup final.
All except Martin Peters had been with the club for at least 5 years. 8 of them are in your list above.