I think overpaying is becoming the norm nowadays, especially on forwards. You look at the fees for the Brazilian trio of Richarlison, Jesus and Raphinha and all three clubs are probably paying about 25% too much. I’ve made no secret I’ve never liked Richarlison so it’s gonna be weird to now be supporting him but I’d rather overpay on him than some rando from France whose name begins with N and see them flop yet again which results in Kane and Son getting overplayed. As for Lucas, I think he stays this season but could leave next summer, he’ll have a year left by then and I don’t see us looking to renew his deal. He’ll still get minutes this season I’d imagine, 5 subs and 4 competitions is enough for many players to get chances but I doubt he’ll be the first point of call from the bench like he primarily was under Conte last season.
Think Richarlison is a fantastic addition to our squad mate, very pleased. Where does this leave Lucas Moura ? He's got a year left on his contract and wants to fulfil that and return to his native Sau Paulo. The club may have other ideas though and want to get a fee for him and possibly push him out. He may even get less time if he does stay if we sign another attacker or a creative mid if we play 3-5-2 at times. Will be interesting to see what happens, decent and likeable but I think the club has outgrown him.
Richarlison covers 2 positions in our attack. That massively increases his utility and value to us. He's a perfect fit for Conte and for once, sporting issues are upmost in our considerations. ENIC put in £150m this summer and we can afford to buy who the coach wants. This summer's a good time to buy, but less good for selling players on PL wages. If we can sell Lucas, I'm sure that we could bring in someone who'd upgrade our front line. Once we sign Spence and Lenglet, we've filled our squad. Further incoming players will be dependent upon who we get offers for and who's available to replace them. We should still have the money and I reckon that there's one or two still to come.
I know he will always be a cult hero for that hat trick in Amsterdam (one of the scariest moments of my life), but I’ve not really noticed him to do much since that game and that was over 3 years ago now. That’s not to say he’s been totally ineffective, and I obviously don’t watch you lot all the time. However, I just don’t notice him contribute much.
I’m surprised there’s not been more concrete links with Eriksen. Seems like a no brainer, surely. Unless there’s some concern about his health and capabilities.
The suggestion is that he wanted a massive signing-on fee and hefty wages...and given that now is a good time to buy, that Conte/Paratici see better value elsewhere. United might well be thinking along the same lines.
I suspect Conte has a "must buy" agreement, whereby the players/positions he wants sorted get done first, then whoever comes after is a bonus (whether it requires balancing the squad roster or not) . So if the two other mentioned players get done, we may see a ramp up for Eriksen (sadly I was hoping for similar for Bale - but the "last responsible moment" for him came too soon ) .
That’s because he hasn’t and it’s quite frustrating because from a technical aspect he’s fantastic, though he’s one of those players who doesn’t seem to have the footballing brain to match his ability. If he had Son or Kane’s footballing intellect he’d be a starter with both of them, or certainly giving Kulu a run for his money anyway. Amsterdam, Utd away and Huddersfield at home are three performances where he was unplayable, there’s been a few others too but in general it’s been too far and few between. I’m more than happy to have him in the squad though, he’s also a really good guy to have around the place and I’d imagine he’ll be tasked with helping Richarlison settle in, as he done so with Emerson.
Pete O’Rourke says we’ve joined a host of clubs chasing St Mirren’s, Murray Campbell. He’s 16 so will be a youth signing if we do get him.
Mike McGrath saying we’re considering Lingard as a free HG option. Can’t see Lingard being interested, he’d get as much game time here as he did at Utd…
Brentford close to signing Keane Lewis-Potter, someone we’d been monitoring for a while. Looks a good young player, should be a decent signing for them if he manages to make the step up.
Conte's system has no conventional 10. It's three forwards and two DM/deep lying playmakers. Eriksen is a really good conventional 10 and fits in perfectly at Brentford. I think if Conte were to be a little flexible, he'd use Eriksen as the LF and allow him to drift back so that he could be involved in ball progression, to play to his strengths. But Conte doesn't seem to be at all flexible regarding his system. One of Spurs' best very early efforts under Conte featured a three man midfield of Ndombele, Dele and Winks vs. Liverpool at home, I guess because he felt he didn't have time to get Spurs to learn his system. Neither the three man midfield nor any of its inhabitants were ever heard from again... well, okay, the latter is a slight exaggeration. But only slight. Anyway, can't argue with results. It is interesting that though Bergwijn is widely rumored to be on his way, Spurs ATM have a reserve of Bergwijn (LF) Richarlison (CF) and Moura (RF). I think they could be decent in Conte's system, though Bergwijn is the only one who's ever been much good at putting the ball in the net.
I’m surprised we didn’t try and play a 352 more often, given we often struggle to break teams down. I suspect as you way that it’s dogma over pragma from Conte. It also doesn’t help that we moved on all the senior players who can really play 10. This season we should have more creative options from WB and the likes of Bissouma coming into midfield may help too - while not the most progressive passer, he’s a great dribbler and good in tight spaces, which may help us unlock the low blocks. Like you say I’m surprised we appear to have not made a bigger play for Eriksen. He could play in the midfield 2 if he had the right partner and we were up against a low block, he would get gametime situationally off the left or right, and would give us a concrete option to play 352 with a proper 10. But I think one of the more interesting stylistic features of Conte’s 343 at Spurs is the role of Kane and having two goal scoring players alongside him. Usually you’d think of wingers/inside forwards/whatever you want to call them as primarily providers but we look to have done a good job of building a system where all 3 forward have opportunities to score and provide. Hopefully Richarlison will also prove to be a good option for bringing others into the game from 9. Finding a player who would come to Spurs who can seamlessly replicate Kane’s contribution, let alone to a similar standard, is nigh on impossible.