There are a lot of players who we have "missed" out on such as Michu, Ba etc but how much of that is down to the chairman or down to scouts &scouting reports? I'm not for one minute laying the blame at either Levy or the scouts but surely someone has to step up and take responsibility. I do think that it's crucial that any top drawer signings are here for pre season to give them a chance to settle in and get used to the club instead of last minute deals that often don't work out. I also feel that having the return of Kaboul, Sandro & Rose to the squad will influence Levys' transfer dealings. I can see him paying out for a top drawer striker, another striker and that's about it! C.O.Y.S.
I'd say the shopping list should be... * Reliable striker (i.e. Villa, Soldado) * Young striker (i.e. Leandro) * Midfield playmaker (i.e. Eriksen) * A young GK as backup for Lloris (i.e. Alex McCarthy) Sales may affect anything else, for example Benny being sold may lead to a new left back.
HBIC I totally agree with your shopping list, and I think most Spurs fans would as well. However, will Levy/Lewis agree!! We do need creativity in the side, Modric & VDV were big players who provided a lot to the side, neither were replaced and as a result we struggled in some games to open teams up. Erikkson would (hopefully) slot in and give us that creativity that missed last season.
If Dortmund have bid £10m for Eriksen, we need to match that bid ASAP - and prepare to pay anything between £2-5m more if needs be. The Levy/Lewis factor is why I don't believe we'll be signing Benteke, as a £20m price tag on a player with one season in the PL is a gamble at the best of times - and with Villa, Soldado and Leandro available for less (at least according to the various stories doing the rounds), that's something else that would count against it. Similarly, with ludicrous prices being quoted for Luke Shaw, if we sign a new left back it's more likely we'd bring in someone like Bruno Martins Indi.
I'd stick in a bid for Erikson, just higher than dortmunds. Although Levy certainly won't get involved in a bidding war for the player. Give Levy credit for that, over the few years he's rarely been fleeced when buying players!
Archer's been getting along well, hasn't he? I'd give Friedel at least preseason to prove he can still cut it, we have to be careful about trampling on our own youngsters especially with how well many of them are progressing. With likes of Friedel, Dempsey, Defoe and maybe Villa, we'll have players who won't be standing in the way of the likes of Archer, Pitchard, Ceballos, Coulthirst and others for if/when they're ready to stake a place in the first team in 2/3 seasons.
