There is interest from Championship sides for Tom Carroll, 24, although I personally think he would want to stay in the PL and could get a move to the likes of Burnley, Hull City or AFC Bournemouth. There is interest in Ryan Mason too but he wants to stay and fight for his place and Poch likes his attitude.
Clinton N’Jie recovering from an injury seems to also be on his way to OM on loan. Pochettino had no intentions of letting him go, but he was specifically asked for during the negotiations for the transfer of young winger Georges-Kévin N'Koudou. Both these deals, delayed due to N’Jie’s work permit issues, could be completed in the next couple of days.
If all these sales are completed Pochettino will have a small group of hardworking and talented players for the 2016/17 season just the way he likes it.
The Australian tour squad, much to the disappointment of Aussie Spurs fans, didn’t include most of the established 1st team players due to their extended holidays after participating in the Euro 2016. With the exception of Eriksen and Lamela, it included bit-part players and mostly youngsters from the academy. But the fans were able to get a peek into what the future of Tottenham will look like. Most of the youngsters completed this tour with flying colours.
But the standouts were Harry Winks, Josh Onomah, Cameron Carter-Vickers (CCV), Anton Walkes and the highly regarded Marcus Edwards who recently signed a new contract with assurances of 1st team squad number & playing time.
Harry Winks was a 2nd half substitute against Juventus and started the next match against Atletico Madrid and both times played alongside Wanyama. He was quietly brilliant in both matches which included a few wayward passes but showed excellent close body control, was quick to turn players and looked to move forward. He showed enough to move up the pecking order to be above Carroll and Mason.
Winks didn’t shirk away from the challenge of playing top CL sides which included many of their 1st team players. Now that Bentaleb’s on his way out, Tottenham need an able deputy to mighty Mousa Dembele. Winks is still only 20 and has a lot to improve but has shown enough to be considered for this role and can learn a lot from Dembele himself.
Josh Onomah, not really a new face to Spurs fans having started in the Europa League last season, bulked up a bit and looks stronger and more confident. He ran at defenders with purpose and determination and started a move that could have seen Lamela level the score against Juventus.
Both Winks and Onomah will see their names on matchday squads more often this season.
Carter-Vickers, 18, started both the matches, once alongside Dominic Ball and the next, Anton Walkes. He started shakily against Juventus, but that might be due to Ball also being rusty and players like Dybala and Pjanic running at him. The second match was much better and we got to see the talent of Anton Walkes (although his error led to Atletico’s goal) too. They had a better understanding. Pochettino claimed he will be signing some new players but not a CB.
He said after loss to Atletico, “Today we can see that in Cameron Carter-Vickers and Anton Walkes, and the other day with Dominic Ball, we have young and talented players and trust in them. I don't think we need to go into the market to sign another centre-back.”
Picking the mentioned players may be a risk as none of them have played in a top level match but that is what Pochettino does – trust in youngsters.
The hype, although, was surrounding Marcus Edwards (The English Messi), a silky 17-year old attacking midfielder who has all the talent to be a top player. He’s rated as one of the best prospects in England. He did his reputation no harm with cameos in both matches (See for yourself in the video below). He has excellent close control and loves to dribble, take on defenders. Although to be playing in the PL he does need to bulk up as he tends to go to the ground far too easily.
19 year-old Shayon Harrison came on a substitute against Juventus and Inter Milan. He scored the sixth goal against Inter Milan at Oslo in 6-1 drubbing. Pochettino back in January last season claimed he would rather play Harrison and Kazaiah Sterling (another academy striker) than buy a striker who doesn’t fit Tottenham’s way of playing.
Tottenham’s final pre-season match against Inter Milan at Oslo, Norway included the players returning from International duty like Alderweireld, Walker, Rose, Dier, Alli and Kane. Eriksen and Lamela also started. Carter-Vickers started alongside Alderweireld with Wimmer on the bench. Having lost the previous two matches this match was the final chance to get a winning mentality before PL kickoff at Goodison Park next week.
Erik Lamela seems to be raring to go this season and was excellent in the match with a goal from long distance and two assists. Kane also got a couple of goals which he needed after subdued performances for England in the Euros. Similarly Alli and Janssen got a goal assisting each other. Janssen was able showcase his talent. He held up the ball nicely and tapped it into Alli’s path for him to score.
Mauricio Pochettino claimed he’s still looking to get some players in before the transfer window closes.
Georges-Kévin N'Koudou, who Tottenham have agreed to buy for £10.9m from OM, is skilful winger who plays on the left. He loves to take on defenders and get to the byline. Just last year N’Koudou was bought by OM from Nantes for £1m by Pochettino’s mentor Marcelo Bielsa. He scored 10 goals in all competition last season. This deal has still not been confirmed and is being held due to N’Jie’s work permit issues who will go to OM on loan.
Tottenham have been linked to many players over the last few months. Some of those names include Mario Götze (unrealistic), Yunus Malli, Franco Vazquez, Ante Coric, Georginio Wijnaldum, Rafa Silva and Sofiane Boufal. Wijnaldum has since moved to Liverpool after Tottenham refused to pay £25m for him, Gotze is back at Dortmund and Vazquez moved to Sevilla FC from Palermo. Boufal is currently injured till late August and any move for him would be reserved until last minute. Rafa Silva, Coric and Malli all fall under similar price range that Tottenham are looking at this summer – around £10m.
All of them would seem a gamble having never played in the PL but it would be worth pursuing as otherwise there would be too much pressure on Eriksen to be the major creator every match. As much as there is talent in Tottenham’s attack, without Eriksen, it all seems a bit one-dimensional. Eriksen provides that spark of brilliance that can be the difference. With Tottenham being involved in the Champions League this season, Pochettino cannot afford to rotate his team as much as he did last year. Hence to avoid burnout, this last signing is crucial as it means Tottenham will then have two quality players at each position with the addition of some youngsters from the academy.
With an excellent starting line-up that proved its worth last season Tottenham will now have the luxury of impact subs off the bench to help them chase a match or close one out.
Since Mousa Dembele is suspended for the first four matches of the season, Wanyama will come in for him with the rest of the team looking to remain the same.
1st choice GK, Hugo Lloris will be captaining the side. Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer will start the season at CB, as Jan Vertonghen is injured, with attack-minded fullbacks Danny Rose and Kyle Walker at LB and RB respectively. Eric Dier will be stationed alongside Victor Wanyama forming an impenetrable wall in front of the defence. Harry Kane will be leading the line with the much improved Lamela, Eriksen and Alli behind him.
When Dembele returns he will replace Wanyama and that would be Tottenham’s best line-up like it was last season.
Most of the pundits and fans alike seem to have already written off Tottenham’s top 4 chances predicting them to finish in the famous 6th place. They might have a point. The traditional heavyweights Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea having had a poor 2015/16 season, have all got new but vastly experienced & successful managers in Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte and are going gung-ho in the transfer window. Both United and City will look to spend more than £100m this summer to attract top players. Don’t forget Arsenal and Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger has managed to qualify for CL consistently for the last 20 years. With Jürgen Klopp having had a good 8 months in PL after replacing Brendan Rodgers, he will now have his own squad of players playing to his tune. It will definitely be tough to cement a place in the top 4. The so called “Smaller” teams will be no pushovers, either. With the new TV money enabling these teams to spend more and resist offers for their star players, they will only get stronger. This year’s English Premier League will probably be the toughest and closest to call yet.
All this being true, what most people are forgetting is that Tottenham have the most stable starting XI (probably along with Arsenal) among the top 6 teams. This was the youngest team in the league last season and would’ve learned a lot from their failures. They will be better and stronger. Pochettino knows his players inside out unlike Pep, Conte or Mourinho whose players will need to adapt to their styles. For Tottenham, this is a headstart and a continuation of last season’s excellent campaign. How they make the most of this with the added burden of CL, FA Cup and League Cup will determine their season and more importantly their future.
