The recently concluded summer transfer window has possibly been the most entertaining one in years. For Spurs fans however, it has been a mixed affair. There have been some encouraging signings – Son, in particular, is a fantastic acquisition. But some of the holes in the squad are yet to be addressed, and one of the main concern among the fans at the moment is the form of Harry Kane, which subsequently makes missing out on Saido Berahino so much worse.
Let’s break down the summer window and the activity of the London club.
The good
Tottenham quickly brought in two centre backs, when to be fair, one could have done the trick. The acquisition of Toby Alderweireld, especially when Southampton were said to be so keen on him, was really good for the side. Kevin Wimmer has been highly rated and does add quality in the depth for the club. Kieran Trippier was one of the bright spots for Burnley last season. He is a player who occasionally stunned the EPL fans with his quality, and at £3.5m, is definitely a good signing.
Clinton N’Jie had a solid season in France for Lyon. The 21-year-old striker started 15 games and appeared in another 15 from the bench. He showed his capabilities by scoring 7 goals and grabbing another 7 assists. He has been used as a “wide forward” and as a number 10 on occasions, making him a versatile option to have. His ability to play as a wide forward could suit coach Mauricio Pochettino’s high pressing 4-2-3-1 system and he will this way have the option of fielding both Harry Kane and N’Jie in the same side, something he could do when he has to break down tough defences. Dele Alli was technically signed in January itself but he has only just started playing for his new club and in all his cameo appearances, he has certainly justified all the hype surrounding him.
Better than good, the best for Spurs has been the arrival of Son Heung-Min from Bayer Leverkusen. Spurs bought the South Korean from the German side for a hefty £22 million.
Son – who was linked with Liverpool at one time – is not just a one season wonder and his price tag justifies the talent he brings with himself to London. He has been a consistent goalscorer in the Bundesliga. In fact, he is one of only four players to score 10 or more Bundesliga goals. He shares this feet with Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller and Max Kruse. And remarkably, scoring is not even his best attribute. He is better known for the chances he creates. The 23-year-old can operate anywhere in the attack, on the wings, behind the striker or as a striker. However, he will be most useful for the club in the hole behind the striker.
The club also did well in getting rid of the player who were surplus to requirement. Remarkably enough, they also got decent money for some of them.
The bad
Harry Kane looks, oddly enough after his exploits last season, completely out of sorts. The Englishman has been thoroughly out of touch and is yet to break the duck this season. Agreed that the season is only four games old and there is no need to panic unnecessarily but we are talking about a player who scored 21 goals in the league (31 in all competitions) last season, and did so after starting his first league game of the season in November. Correctly put by David Hynter of The Guardian, “He is no longer the 22-year-old hopeful, rather the main man.”
While the club added Lyon’s impressive talent Clinton N’Jie to lend Kane some support upfront, two late bids for Saido Berahino on deadline day show Tottenham knew they were still short on a key area. It was naive on their part to assume that West Brom will eventually cave and sell the player to them.
Pochettino will hope Kane can get back to his best, but even then, it is asking a little too much from him to be leading the line in four competitions (N’Jie could be a great supporting act this season, but he is likely to be just a supporting act till he adjusts to a new country, league, culture and club).
The ugly
Spurs sold three midfielders this summer – Paulinho, Stambouli and Capoue – and even though a club should not keep deadweight around, the fact remains that they have not only failed to address the position that needed an upgrade the most since last season, but also made the problem slightly worse.
The fact that they are missing a commanding presence that can sit in front of the defence and shield it capably was one of the main reasons why they conceded their 2-0 lead to Stoke at home earlier this season.
Not adding midfielder could be a big problem for Spurs. Pochettino has started playing Eric Dier in the midfield and so far, it has paid dividends. But, what if Dier gets injured? This is the one position the club lacks cover in and it might be something the manager could find to be problematic. It’s not easy to buy quality players and Chelsea and Arsenal, who also needed the midfield to be addressed also failed. When these clubs, who are more attractive than Spurs also fail in this regard, you could perhaps forgive them for not being successful in their attempt.
But the fact that the club wasn’t even linked with anyone seriously gives the indication that they weren’t particularly interested in fixing this problem. For now, Dier, Bentaleb, Mason, and Alli – all of whom are young, mind – are options for the team and Spurs would hope they can develop into the roles. Depending on how severe the need is in the coming windows, Spurs would think about addressing the problem accordingly then. However, it cannot be denied that the midfield position was the one that needed an upgrade the most, and the failure to address this problem could cause the club some serious damage as the season progresses.