Despite the long tradition of new managers being given rather flexible and ambitious budgets in their opening transfer windows, Tottenham spent a rather modest £32million this summer as they welcomed Mauricio Pochettino to White Hart Lane.
None of their six summer signings have particularly set north London either, so in addition to spending a frugal sum, one could argue the Lilywhites didn’t even find good value for money over the summer.
Could they have done better? Well, perhaps this select Xi, combining Tottenham’s key players with reported summer transfer targets, can shed some light on the issue.
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GOALKEEPER – HUGO LLORIS
Unquestionably now the jewel of Tottenham’s starting Xi, the north Londoners were never going to oust France international Hugo Lloris during the off-season. He’s enjoyed continually impeccable form since first moving to White Hart Lane in summer 2012 – here’s a look at the 27 year-old in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/lcPQqqxtIy8?rel=0
Instead, the Lilywhites spent much of the summer window keeping Lloris’ potential suitors at bay, before issuing him a new five-year contract in July.
Mauricio Pochettino did make some changes to his goalkeeping options however, allowing Heurelho Gomes to leave the club on a free transfer and replacing him with former Swansea No.1 Michel Vorm.
RIGHT BACK – SERGE AURIER
Arsenal and Spurs were both strongly linked with Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier during the summer, but Paris St. Germain eventually beat them to the right-back’s signature.
The 21 year-old was amongst the stand-out performers in Ligue 1 last season, as detailed below, attaining a plethora of assists and goals from a variety of positions, ranging from centre-back to right wing.
Indeed, Aurier’s versatility makes him a huge asset to any squad, especially when combined with his speedy and powerful physique. Here’s a clip of the former Toulouse talisman in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/BWQ2VEtkRSo?rel=0
The Lilywhites turned to England U21 Eric Dier instead, sourced from Sporting Lisbon, and the young defender has already proved a decent acquisition, netting twice in his opening two Premier League fixtures.
Centre-back – Mateo Musacchio
Described by Goal.com as ‘the perfect Pochettino defender’, Tottenham were set to sign Villarreal star Mateo Musacchio during the summer but the deal collapsed in late August:
Particularly famed for his pace, quality in possession and front-footed style, and having excelled in La Liga over the last few seasons, as shown below:
…the Argentina international would have been the ideal replacement for Hull City-bound Michael Dawson, suiting Pochettino’s high-pressing game faultlessly.
The 24 year-old has since revealed however that he felt Tottenham’s offer for his services simply wasn’t good enough.
Instead, the Lilywhites turned to Europa League-winning captain Federico Fazio, who saw red in his first ever Premier League outing against Manchester City and is still struggling to find his feet at White Hart Lane.
Centre-Back – JAN VERTONGHEN
Jan Vertonghen is still some way off recapturing the form of his debut Premier League season, as detailed below:
But unquestionably still Tottenham’s most talented defender on paper, he was always going to feature heavily in Maurico Pochettino’s first team plans for the current campaign.
Interest in the Belgium international was surprisingly muted during the summer, barring some brief links with Barcelona.
But the 6 foot 2 centre-half could be on the move soon, with recent discussions over a new deal at White Hart Lane ending on a rather sour note:
LEFT BACK – ALBERTO MORENO
Bizarrely, Tottenham ruled themselves out of the race to sign Sevilla starlet Alberto Moreno as early as June, leaving Liverpool to snap up the Spaniard two months later.
Instead, the Lilywhites grabbed Swansea youngster Ben Davies for just £4million less, but the Wales international has gone on to make just two appearances for the north Londoners in the Premier League.
Moreno’s form at Liverpool has hardly been noteworthy, but the former Europa League winner quickly showed Spurs what they had missed out on by netting his first Premier League goal at White Hart Lane:
//www.youtube.com/embed/uATgi0O4dY4?rel=0
Here’s how the two left-backs have compared over the last few seasons:
CENTRAL MIDFIELD – ETIENNE CAPOUE
At one point during the summer, it looked like Etienne Capoue would leave Spurs after just twelve months at White Hart Lane.
To give credit where it’s due however, the France international has been one of the Lilywhites’ most consistent performers this season and vastly improved upon his shambolic showings last term:
He’s kept the likes of Paulinho and Mousa Dembele out of the starting Xi and appears to be a favourite of Pochettino’s. Here’s a clip of the 27 year-old enforcer in action for former club Toulouse:
//www.youtube.com/embed/o7nXtm3TDy4?rel=0
CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS – MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN
Anchoring the midfield with two tough-tackling enforcers was vital to Mauricio Pochettino’s game-plan at Southampton. Resultantly, it was widely reported through the summer that he wanted to bring Saints midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin with him to White Hart Lane:
Indeed, the France international has emerged as one of the Premier League’s leading holding players since Southampton’s top flight ascension in summer 2012, and this season he’s once again in the top ten for successful tackles:
This goal against Newcastle wasn’t too bad either:
//www.youtube.com/embed/anRtvwoN4iI?rel=0
Amid Southampton’s infamous summer exodus of key players and management staff however, the South Coast club issued a stark hands-off warning in regards to Schneiderlin and team-mate Jay Rodriguez.
Resultantly, the Lilywhites turned to £5million signing Benjamin Stambouli, who is yet to feature in the Premier League since his debut in September.
However, recent speculation claims Spurs could launch a double swoop for Schneiderlin and Rodriguez in January:
RIGHT WING – ERIK LAMELA
Following an infamously anonymous start to his Tottenham career, prior reports claimed Spurs would sell Erik Lamela during the summer:
But the Lilywhites stood by their club-record £30million signing and that loyalty is already paying off dividends. The Argentina international is not only Spurs’ most effective dribbler this season, but he’s also their top supplier with four assists in twelve appearances:
He’s still some way off the talent that bagged 15 goals in his final campaign at Roma, but the winger is finally beginning to show his potential in the Premier League.
No.10 – CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN
The impressive form of Christian Eriksen was one of a rare few positives to take from Tottenham’s 2013/14 campaign, so the Danish playmaker was always going to be a regular fixture of the starting Xi this season.
Pochettino’s been wise enough to bring the 22 year-old back into the central attacking role, having more commonly featured on the left hand-side under Tim Sherwood. He’s already showing how effective he can be in that role, currently averaging the most chances created per match of any Spurs player:
He’s also netted four times in twelve appearances – including this last-minute winner against Hull City last weekend:
Left Wing – Danny Welbeck
A transfer faux pas so detrimental it could cost Franco Baldini his job, according to some reports, the Lilywhites were targeting Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck on summer deadline day but eventually lost out in the pursuit to local rivals Arsenal:
The England international has since gone on to net ten times for club and country, including a brace against Slovenia and a hat-trick against Galatasaray in the Champions League:
//www.youtube.com/embed/w52fXiL95XU?rel=0
The 23 year-old would have been a stunning coup for the Lilywhites but to give credit where it’s due, Nacer Chadli has excelled in the left wing role this season to become Tottenham’s leading goalscorer:
That includes this strike against Stoke City:
STRIKER – WILFRIED BONY
Tottenham’s desperate need for a consistent goal-scorer was abundantly clear before the summer and now it’s further amplified by a strike-force of Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane netting just four times collectively in the Premier League.
The Lilywhites were strongly linked to Swansea’s Wilfried Bony, whom in terms of height, power and netting prowess, would have been perfect for Mauricio Pochettino’s customary lone target man role.
Indeed, the Ivory Coast international bagged 16 goals during his inaugural Premier League campaign to steer the Swans clear of relegation, the highlights of which are viewable below:
//www.youtube.com/embed/j4S_JSxaOI0?rel=0
And whilst Spurs currently hold the worst goals for record in the Premier League’s top half at just 16, Bony has gone on to claim five goals in ten starts for the Welsh side. That includes this superb effort against Manchester City last weekend:
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