There are two possibilities here : 1. A repeat of Bale 2013 2. Doing what the Poool did with the Suarez / Coutinho money. With no DoF here (and therefore not knowing their rep) , iI really fear it could go #1, but with now potentially 4 clubs to fight for a PL top 4 slot rather than just two.
Scenario two is probably what Levy (and fans) are hoping for. I don't even really see keeping Kane as a gamble though. £80m, £100m or £200m, we wouldn't be able to replace him with any amount really so if we have to lose him for nothing next summer then so be it, gives us one more year of having a world class striker before settling for a decent/ good one.
No player is irreplaceable, Kane is undoubtedly the best striker I have seen at Spurs (i'm 38) but he wont be here forever. I remember worrying what would happen when we sold Bale, it took time but Poch got us consistant top 4 and a CL final. I almost think at times Kane is part of the problem, because he is so good other players hide making us over reliant on Harry to do something. Of course I would be devastated but I can see life beyond Harry Kane at Spurs.
Charlie Eccleshare says we’re open to selling Hojbjerg and he’s also open to leaving. No talks with Atleti yet though despite earlier reports.
I think the sad reality is we won't be challenging for the top, too prizes (PL and CL) until the tail end of Kane's career at the very earliest. We failed to strengthen from a position of strength in 2016-18 and have paid a heavy price for that, compounded by a series of abysmal decisions from 2020-23. Kane will know that this ship has definitely sailed and that the best he can hope for as a Spurs player are the domestic trophies. So either way, our long term vision has to be one that doesn't include him at all, which is why there is a strong argument that says if the player wants to leave and the fee allows us to invest in players who we feel in 2-3 years time will have us on track to prepare to challenge for the biggest honours again, then sell him now rather than losing him for free for the sake of having another season of (probably) not winning anything and (probably) not achieving top 4. The 'probably' there is the gamble. Do we stand to gain that much keeping Kane for a year to lose him for free, when we are so far away from the very things that might make him commit to a new contract, which is top 4 plus a trophy as the bare minimum?
I'd be happy with this. Never saw the fuss about him although you can't fault his professionalism and work ethic. Bit of a 'neither here nor there' player jack of all trades master of none type. Isn't really a box to box mid, isn't a holding mid, isn't a creative mid just runs around a lot and has enough quality to chip in with goals and assists every now and then.
Yet another player our Twitter fanbase insists is dreadful being rated by a top club ...that same Twitter fanbase who are thinking this will be the season Ndombele proves his worth, even though Napoli and Lyon both suggested sticking rusty syringes in their groins being preferable to starting him in games
There’s something in this. I also think we’d be prepared to accept, say 80m if we had CL football, but because we don’t, we need the higher fee to invest in players, and to help us get more players in case the ones we get aren’t hits. I think if we win a cup this season he’ll re-sign, otherwise it’s hard to see this coming season as anything other than his final act in a Spurs shirt. ALTHOUGH the one caveat to that is that if he wants to break the PL record and head off into the distance with it, he needs to be first choice at his next club. Here is the only place he is guaranteed that for the foreseeable is here. It’s the one card we hold but all the others are gone unless Ange and the club can work some magic.
Sort of depends where you look. I see a lot of respect for Hojbjerg for being a solid if unspectacular player who many would be open to selling now as he won't fit Ange's system. Likewise people can't stand Ndombele and can't wait to see the back of him, just like Lo Celso, Sessegnon, Sanchez etc. The minorities who overly hate Hojbjerg and still believe in Ndombele are often the shoutiest on Twitter though, so it can obscure views as to how the majority actually view each. If both players were sold today, there'd be many, many well-wishers for Hojbjerg yet many dancing in jubilation to see Ndombele gone.
I often thought that PEH's biggest fault was in the past he would run about the defence and midfield like a one armed paper hanger , rather than doing his own job well he often tried to cover for the clusterfuck going on behind him , for the last 3 seasons he has not had a rest and must be knackered Ndombele has all the skill in the world but seems unable to take the pace and intensity of the premier league , who would I have in the squad ? PEH every time , if a bid comes in for him and Postecoglou sells then I have faith that he can be upgraded
That's the odd thing with Hojbjerg: he's the exact sort of player the squad needs, as he'd fight for the shirt every second he was on the pitch and has a strong presence in the dressing room - but is also the easiest CM to upgrade either in favour of a ballplaying No6, which Skippy is better suited for, while as a box-to-box No8 Bissouma is a no-brainer over him, making him a utility player with first team workrate That being said, those comparing him to Jamie O'Hara or Michael Brown really do need a trip to the opticians, as the eyeball test alone proves how dense that opinion is
Shirt number hint there, perhaps? Iconic number 23. Porro's never been 23 before, so I doubt he's that attached to it.
WindyCOYS has hinted the Mystery Winger is Harvey Barnes A bit of a disappointment, what with Barnes being linked with us last week, meaning he isn't a mystery...
So that’s probably one ‘mystery winger’ out of the picture. Surprised at this as he’s only 24 but it’ll set him up for life. Apparently there were 2 Celtic players we were interested in, Hatate is the 8, but maybe less likely now we have Maddison? The other 2 I’ve seen mentioned from Celtic are CCV (would be surprising, though apparently Ange loves him) and the striker Kyogo Furushami, though he’s 28 and I doubt we’d want another 9 unless the club know something we don’t.
There's a few suggestions flying about that Dele had a hand in us signing James Maddison, talking up the club every chance he got to hook his mate in
