Despite tailing off at the season’s end, Tottenham Hotspur can be very pleased with their third place finish in the Premier League which ensured Champions League football for next year.
With the exciting news that Tottenham will also be playing their aforementioned Champions League games at Wembley in the 2016/2017 campaign, Spurs tickets next season will certainly be very hard to come by. If Mauricio Pochettino’s men wish to go one step further next season and actually bring home their maiden piece of Premier League silverware, it is clear to Tottenham fans and neutrals alike that fresh blood needs to be introduced to help bolster a squad whose fragility was exposed following the Lilywhites’ end of season implosion, which saw them lose two of their last three in the EPL.
Here are two players the North London club should sign to help propel them to another title challenge next year.
Sadio Mane
The only problem with Tottenham’s one-striker system and the unstoppable form of Harry Kane is that whoever plays understudy to the England forward will undoutbtedly rarely get a look-in during the season (assuming Kane stays fit). This unfortunately rules out the possibility of signing any player unwilling to sit on the bench and play second fiddle to Kane. However, a viable work-around for the London club would be to bring in someone who can offer something unique in a multitude of different positions.
Southampton attacker Sadio Mane, who can operate as a striker, winger or advanced midfielder, would be the perfect acquisition this summer. As well as serving as an able deputy to Kane, Mane should also receive the game time he deserves in midfield, providing strong competition for the likes of Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen in the process. With rumours that Liverpool are also targeting the Senegal international, Daniel Levy must move quickly should he wish to bring the 24-year-old to White Hart Lane this summer.
Jack Grealish
Despite enduring his fair share of problems off the field this season, there’s no doubting the potential that young English midfielder Jack Grealish offers. After joining Aston Villa’s heralded youth academy as a boy, he was duly promoted to the club’s first team as a teenager. Since then, stellar performances, such as the one he put in during Villa’s FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool in 2015, have placed the Under-21 international’s name on the map, despite his somewhat controversial antics. Famous for wearing socks that come to just above his ankles, Grealish is a skilfull winger whose strongest attributes are taking players on and creating chances for his team mates. After his Villa side’s disasterous season which saw them relegated from the Premier League for the first time, he could be available at a cut price this summer and, should he be nurtured in the right way under Pochettino, young Jack could end up becoming a very influential player for Spurs in future seasons.