Woods would improve our squad and so would Courtinho. There may be reason we didn't sign them but they'd have helped imho.
Matthew Scianitti of TSN Sports is linking us with Lille striker Jonathan David One obvious issue: the odds of him being a cheap option are hampered by i.) Him scoring 12 goals in 20 games this season ii.) Lille paying £22m for him in the summer of 2020 iii.) David being contracted until 2025
I think I posted it a few months back, but he has liked a few of our Instagram posts Don't suppose Lille fancy taking Ndombele on loan...?
After last night does anyone think we should keep Stevie? Or has it just added a couple of million to his price tag?
Conte took a fair amount of flak for saying that he thought Bergwijn was an option as a striker and last night showed why. In his after match press conference, when questioned about selling Bergwijn, he talked about unique qualities he brought to the squad and said he was looking to improve the squad, not weaken it. Unless we're bringing in some really top notch forwards, in this TW, I reckon that he's likely to be staying.
When he made the run, then past the keeper, look up and finish…he looked like he had it all. That’s the player he is…instinct, moment, mood. I wasn’t really commenting either way regards Stevie B’s future as I wasn’t ‘too bothered or unsure’ since he has been quite lost at Spurs overall. His confidence slumped a while back and to me he felt lost ever since. However what I saw last night showed me that he’s got that confidence in him, he’s always grafted imo when he’s played but he’s never quite believed in himself it seems. That cameo last night showed me hat he’s definitely still got it…just takes time when you’re stuck in a mental rut to pull out sometimes? He’s no Tanguy…I hope we keep him, I think we need him.
I was thinking about this. It can't be coincidence that Bergwijn, Winks, Davies, Dier, Sanchez...and last night, what a shocker...even Doherty, look something like proper players again...even if only temporarily for some, it's a real transformation. Is it renewed confidence coming from proper individual coaching...? ...or massively improved fitness? ...or a proper game plan and tactics? ...or rebuilding a team spirit? ...or fear of disappointing Conte and being moved on and missing out on working with someone truly special? It's probably a bit of all of the above and a few others, but it's definitely an indicator of how poor the management of the available talent has been over the last few seasons.
Still has a "one swallow does not a summer make" feel to it. If I thought these players would maintain that level at worst, at best push on upwards, then I would happy to keep them Again it comes down to the fact Spurs do not have the luxury (on-pitch or financial) of waiting for those days to arrive. Notably, Chelsky away is up next. That is where the real questions will be now asked of one and all ...
I'm not saying that we don't need to buy a number of real quality players to be properly competitive - it's probably a minimum of 6...but a few months ago, it would have been very difficult to see us putting out last night's line up, playing as we did and staging that come back. Players who looked broken and to have no future at the club, are now potentially viable squad options going forward...and given our budget, we definitely need them to be. Conte knows that he has to win the hearts and minds of the underperforming elements of our squad and build something with a number of them involved. For now, the signs are that he could just get there.
I guess it depends on if we sold him, who do we get in to replace him? I was excited when Bergwijn joined and it’s safe to say he hit the ground running but after injuries and that initial burst he was borderline woeful for a large period of time, couldn’t hit a barndoor. But then in the summer just gone it was being said that we were gonna sell him and replace him with Traore and that I just weren’t on board with. There were quite a few on here that wanted it too and I just didn’t/ don’t get why (still don’t get why people want that guy now). It would’ve been a massive downgrade on someone who themselves weren’t in great form. Last night showed that Bergwijn, when fully switched on and up for it can be some player but it’s just whether we see that Bergwijn more often or the one we’ve seen for the best part of 18 months? If the former then it’s a no brainer to keep him, if the latter then if there’s a viable and good option out there to replace him with then his stock has massively risen and it’s a time to cash-in while we can. Whatever happens though, Ajax will now know that €15m bid is nowhere near enough, nowhere near.
It's a tricky one. He definitely hasn't delivered enough given the hype surrounding him when he first arrived and is definitely too much of a confidence player which just doesn't wash in the PL. He had that good but wasteful performance at Anfield under Maureen and pretty much went into hiding for 6 months after that. Also his injury record is really poor. However, even prior to last night's game I would have preferred him over Traore as Steve does have more of an end product and can last longer than 50mins at a time. We criticise him and Lucas for barely scraping double figures per season (if that!) but the reality is the next bracket of goalscorers in our squad average zero to one goals per season. Right now, the absolute top 3 to move on are Tanguy, Dele and Lo Celso. Shifting them will be really hard but if we can it will clear three of our highest earners off the wage bill and two of the poorest attitudes out of the club.
I’m not convinced by Sanchez, had a decent run for a bit but he’s been back to an erratic mess for a few games now, last night probably being his worst. He’s always been patchy in his career here and when Romero’s fit he drops straight to the bench. Bergwijn we’ll have to see, gave us chills last night but that was only his second and third league goals since the beginning of last season. There’s a player in there no doubt but will we see it consistently? Be great if so. I’ve said a few times recently that Winks is basically one of the best of a bad bunch with regards to midfield options and it makes him unsellable this window at least. I’d 100% pick him over Lo Celso, Ndombele and Dele and I think all would agree on that too, albeit it’s hardly something to boast about either when looking at those three. I think we should see how he does til the end of the season, if he continues like this then I think he’s earned himself a place in the squad. I’ve always liked Ben Davies as a defender and I’ve said that many times over the years. He’s just not the modern day FB that the game requires. As a LCB in a back three though? It fits him like a glove and Conte knows it, just a shame other managers didn’t. Dier is the one who I think has really benefited from Conte though. He was utterly horrendous for some time and before that he wasn’t too great either. It felt like the Dier of the first three Poch years was long gone but Conte’s revived him and some, not sure I’d agree with Conte that he can become one of the best CBs in the world but he’s definitely more than worthy of his spot in our XI and he’s been one of the club’s best performers this season. Conte’s definitely managing to get an extra 5-10% of out most players though and that’s what world class managers do and why the club is paying him a small fortune. It’s also why it’s scary to think what he can do with players of his own choosing and with just 11 days left I hope the club gives him some.
Sanchez has been ok at the right side of that defence but isn’t the man to play in the middle. Not good enough on the ball and too erratic. He’s an able deputy to Romero though. I think it’s upgrades to the other two we need to focus on.
There are question marks over all of them, with Ben Davies as a possible exception (in a LCB role) - with good reason. Like you, I'm not sure that any coach can truly cure Davinson Sanchez's issues. He's just not a natural defender. There's just a lack of understanding of where he should be and what's the right option to take in too many situations. However, given our weaknesses elsewhere in the team, Conte's pretty much going to have to use him or Tanganga to back up Romero at RCB. Winks doesn't have the game to play in a 2 man midfield and only scores when he doesn't mean to. Dier can't defend the high ball into the box and has a tendency to lose concentration. Bergwijn's got injury and confidence issues. Being Spurs manager is all about getting more from less and repurposing players. This coach can actually do that. This season and the next, he's going to have to keep on doing just that...no matter what promises Levy made, even if he keeps them all.
If a half decent offer for Sanchez came in I’d 100% take it. Anything over £25m I’d say. He’s just always prone to brainfarts and has a lack of concentration, seemingly loses his footing at times too. Not what you want from a CB on a long term basis. I think he’ll still be here until the summer though, looks like Rodon and Tanganga could depart this window and we won’t let all three go.
I'm nervous when ever I see Sanchez on the team sheet. I just don't think Conte can coach those mistakes out of him.
