agree cockerel, but like you say no chance of us doing that sort of business in January! A loan deal or 2, it is. so who do we realistically think we could get on loan for the creative midfield spot? and which striker could be a possibility? This is my list so far: ...
I think that we could bring people in, but it would probably involve something like bidding for players with expiring contracts or those that are out of favour with their clubs. The Brazilian league is another viable option, as it's well out of sync with ours and it finishes soon. I've no idea about individual targets, though.
i've always liked andy carroll, i think he works really hard and would certainly give us another option. but he wants to play football and that's not going to be too often with us. not to mention that the club's days of signing crouch/carroll type are pretty much over now.
Depends on who we would try to sign, Roo. If we went in for the likes of Damaio or Ganso, then yeah, we'd be paying a massive premium. There have to be other options who wouldn't cost the world, but who could do a very good job for us, though.
but even the not so well known/not household name players will still be overinflated. I can't see it being anything other than loans, which really aren't any good, IMO. yes it gets us through, but we need stability now we're working on a long term plan. Levy's used his usual tricks in the summer window, which has left AVB short and I don't see any change to the pattern we've seen over the last few seasons in January window either, to be honest.
I wouldn't be too depressed if we had to dip into to loans/ short term deals in order to bring some talent in. I was probably one of the only people this Jan that was happy with our dealings of Nelsen and Saha. Nelsen played really well in the chances he was given and I thought Saha was a very decent bit of business, scored a few good goals and personally I would have liked him around this year to remain as the 3rd choice striker. As of right now, I think we could've really done with Saha. Anyway, for the Jan window coming up, I'd love to see us bring in one of either Mertens or Eriksen for the CAM role. Mertens is regarded as a winger but I think he'd shine as a CAM, 20+ goals and something like 15 assists in one season suggests he'd definitely play well as a second striker/ CAM in my opinion, being a Belgian too he'd be helped to settle by Jan and Mousa. We all know of Christian Erikson's talent, though I'm sure many clubs will be circling him so you'll have to pay top dollar - something I think needs to be done though. I'd say we'd need to be looking at £10m-£12m for Mertens or probably £18m+ for Eriksen. Jordy Clasie could also be an option, not seen too much but he's regarded as the "Dutch Xavi" and would be available for around £10m... Wouldn't mind delving into the freebies (if still available) and get Miguel on a short term deal. Been one of Europe's best RB's over the years and while Walker isn't impressing and Naughton isn't getting much of a chance on the right (perhaps AVB doesn't rate him?), I think Miguel would be an astute signing 'til the end of the season. Obviously would love a striker but in January, clubs demand near enough double the price for a clinical finisher. The likes of Huntelaar, Damiao and co would all be welcomed but I can't see Levy splashing a shed load of money on one.
Ganso would be out of the question anyway PNP, he's agreed to sign for Sao Paolo. They got him on a cheap too, something like £16m I think. Considering at one point they were saying nothing less than £25m etc. Perhaps we should look at hiring Sao Paolo's negotiator!
I honestly think it'll be loans, and i'm 99% sure we'll do business in that form. I'd love to see either Mertens or Eriksen (or both) but with them needing to bed in, as well as the cost, I don't think Levy will spend the money bearing in mind that there is a risk that we might not see the best of them until march, once they've adapted to the league. yes they could bed in straight away, but at the best part of 30mill, if that's going to happen i think it'll be in the summer. I don't think Levy will take that risk for that sort of money. massive catch 22 though. as a few of us have no mentioned, when you look past the first 11 (fully fit)the quality of depth is non existent in a couple of positions. If levy waits until the summer, it could all be too late and just as costly. We also don't have many players that we can sell to recoup some money. if we were to sell Dawson we'd need to replace him which cancel out some/most of the profit from that sale. if Levy purchases players like you've mentioned in Jan, it really will be a statement of intent and almost a way of owning up to the fact that we messed up during the summer. I just can't see it happening, although I'll be over the moon if it is the case. IMO, if we do purchase in Jan, it won't be the same names that we saw in the summer. That'll be a shame, as they were the players that AVB really wanted. (Willian and Moutihno). it comes back to that old argument of having to pay that little bit extra to get who you want. Sig was a cheapish option for Rafa, and Dempsey was a last min panic buy, which is currently looking like 14 odd mill down the drain.
Yeah you're probably right Roo, loans will likely be the preferrred method of strengthening for Levy at the moment. While I think loans will improve the squad, I don't think they'll improve the first team which evidently needs strengthening. Dempsey and Sig have been major let downs (such a shame as I really rate/ rated them and thought they'd fit in well) and other players just aren't performing well enough. I honestly feel Levy NEEDS to back AVB if AVB is to have any chance of succeeding here at Spurs. While I've not hidden my disappointment in the manager, I appreciate anyone in his position needs to be able to strengthen with new players. Like you I think Moutinho and Willian are now out of the question as both are probably valued well over £25m now and Levy won't part with that. That's why I think he needs to look at players who are arguably as good yet haven't had as much exposure, hence why I say Mertens and Eriksen or even Clasie. If Levy fails to bring in anyone of what we'd consider as genuine quality to improve the first team, then I really think we could be in a spot of bother. Granted when the injured players are back fit (but that's something I don't think we can afford to rely on) we SHOULD be much stronger providing AVB utilises them correctly but I still think genuine quality must be added if we're to compete with the other teams around us. City, Utd and Chelsea all arguably look a level above us now and so Levy needs to ensure we're not going to be left behind. No pressure Daniel
agree with all that mate, but again Mertens and Eriksen won't be cheap either, as you've alluded to a couple of posts ago. even if they are the "cheaper" options, I sill think it's too much for us in a Jan window. - Based on previous experiences that we've witnessed at that time of year. also, what if they turn out not to be what we expect? then again, there's always that risk I suppose. Mind you, 'arry did get new additions in Jan 09 when he took over and we saw Keane and Defoe comeback (spending 27mill on the two. not sure if there were sales to compensate for that, i cant remember), so I guess there is hope.
I wanted us to go for Carroll, or someone of that ilk in the summer, so would be happy if we went for him in January, plus it would **** off West Ham, which would be hilarious
I think Mertens and Clasie are relatively "cheap" (£10m's nothing to me! ) and worth taking a risk on. Eriksen admittedly may be a bit too high. Yeah, both Juande and Harry got major backing in one of their Jan windows. Juande got at one point: Woodgate, Hutton, Gilberto and Gunter which came to something like £20m+. Harry was allowed to bring in: Palacios, Defoe, Keane and Chimbonda which came to something like £35m+. So he has had the b*llocks to spend a bit. Lets hope he gives AVB similar treatment and is able to strengthen.
When we were facing relegation, Levy spent big-time because the thought of losing all that TV money plus having to cut prices in the Championship was a definite no-no It's unlikely we'll be in the relegation zone by January, however we might be on such a slide it might wake ENIC up I think we'll be about 8th after the City and Arsenal games, what happens after that ...mmmm
I think it was more like £10mill he got sold for but he's been picking up loads of injuries and has been crap apparently. We need someone who can play deeper though really. It's really taken me by surprise how poor Sigurdsson and Dempsey's finishing has been, for players that I've seen striking the ball so well last season they are both scuffing and dragging shots like amateurs. With regards to strikers we could get, I still think Odemwingie would've been a clever signing. He was misused under Hodgson and had a few injuries too so we might have been able to get him at a decent price although if Ba was available cheap like it was rumoured we've missed a big trick there.
