Do Tottenham still have work to do in the January Transfer Window? We ask fans group Daily Hotspur about their options ahead of Deadline Day.
What is your take on the Christian Eriksen/Jan Vertonghen situations? Has it ruined their overall spell at the club?
Spurs have badly messed up the Christian Eriksen situation.
When a player is no longer committed to the club, it’s time to start looking to offload. When Eriksen began to indicate he was not interested in renewing his contract, Spurs should have started to make plans without him.
His talent is undeniable, but I look at Liverpool and how it seemed to be a disaster losing Philippe Coutinho. Obviously it’s been quite the opposite, with Jurgen Klopp using the money to bring in the likes of Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk - making them a much better rounded team.
Tottenham’s biggest issue has been allowing the team to remain the same and plateau, this being down to age and a loss of motivation and many being in the same environment for too long. Two years ago, Spurs would have been looking at £100m+ for the Dane, but are now desperate to get £20m for a player who hasn’t looked interested for over six months.
Unfortunately, Jan Vertonghen’s prime years at Spurs are over. His levels this season have dropped considerably and at 32 he is not a player I'd be looking to tie down to a long-term deal.
Those two aside, which other first team player would you sell if you had the chance?
Victor Wanyama’s time at Spurs has been completely ruined by injury. In his first year at the club, he was sensational and a big part of our incredible home form and second-place finish. But now, he struggles to stay fit and has fallen completely out of favour with Mourinho.
Serge Aurier just has not been good enough for Spurs and even with a mini-revival under Mourinho, Spurs need to be looking to upgrade him.
Kyle Walker-Peters is another right-back who has not been good enough for Spurs - unfortunately, due to a lack of game-time which has halted his development. Being home-grown, it is important if he is moved on that we bring in another young English player. Hopefully Max Aarons from Norwich City.
Danny Rose is a player whose time at Spurs should have come to an end a while ago. Since his injury in 2016, he has never been the same player and this season he has continued to decline.
Are you excited by the arrival of Gedson Fernandes, both as a statement and potential?
There is undoubtedly a talented player in Gedson, but due to an injury and a new manager not fancying him, his development has been halted.
It’s a low risk, high reward deal for Spurs. If in 18 months' time, Spurs decide they don’t fancy him, they send him back to Benfica.
But, if in 18 months' time he has fulfilled his potential then they can land themselves a very talented player for a decent price (£43m).
But right now, with funds limited they’ve got a player through the door to replace Moussa Sissoko and not had to commit money on the player this month.
For all three parties this could be a very good deal. For Benfica, they could get very good money for a player who had fallen out of favour.
For Spurs, they could be getting a diamond for a very good price, if the player is able to get his career back on track. For the player, this will offer him a good chance to re-establish himself in a new environment.
But ultimately, there is a reason he had a £103m release clause but Benfica were willing to let him go for significantly less. He’s very highly thought of, but a player who needs help getting back on track.
What else would you like to see from the club in the transfer window this month?
First and foremost, a striker is required.
With Harry Kane injured, and Troy Parrott not deemed ready, Spurs don’t have a striker in the squad. In a way, it’s infuriating the club have taken until a long-term injury to Kane to start looking to bring in a replacement.
A defensive midfielder and right-back are areas that both desperately need addressing, but given the Gedson signing and reported hunt for a striker, it looks like the club are just being reactive rather than proactive in this window by replacing the injured Sissoko and Kane.
Do you think Spurs fall behind in the transfer market compared to other top six clubs – and is it frustrating from a fans’ point of view?
Spurs would be Premier League winners or possibly Champions League winners by now if we had of competed with the rest of the top six in the transfer window.
But, unfortunately, we have significantly regressed and lost the manager who would have taken us there by failing to give him the players he needed. Going 18 months without a signing has really cost us this season and we have fully felt the effects of failing to do so.
I do understand the financial limitations due to the stadium being built, but maybe the club should have been smarter in the market.
Spurs have reportedly missed out on players like James Maddison, Ricardo Pereira (now both at Leicester) and Jack Grealish.
Sum up the transfer window as a Spurs fan...
Bidding £3m plus Joshua Onomah for Grealish. Signing Louis Saha and Ryan Nelson in January to help our push for Champions League qualification.
Replacing Gareth Bale with Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Etienne Capoue and Vlad Chiriches.
Going 18 months without making a single signing. Being image rights away from signing Paulo Dybala.
What have you made of life under Jose Mourinho so far?
Not much has changed since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked and that’s gutting because I still fully believed he was the man to continue to lead us through this difficult time. So far it’s been a case of different manager, same problems.
Since the Christmas period our form has significantly declined and performances have been totally uninspiring.
But for the same reason I wanted Poch to stay, Mourinho faces so many issues with this squad and whoever the manager, it was always going to take a lot of time to rebuild this squad.
The rebuild of this squad should have commenced at least two years ago and for that reason I will not be blaming the manager for the issues we have faced and will continue to face for the rest of the season.
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