As the end of the transfer window draws close, it seems that Tottenham’s remaining transfer targets are becoming clear, and barring any unexpected twists and turns, all will hopefully be plying their trade at White Hart Lane by September 1st. I’ll be summarising the transfers made this summer, those still to come, and revisiting my previous article on AVB’s plans for Tottenham, and how these new transfers can fit into the system.
Ins and Outs so far
This summer has been one of significant transfer activity for Spurs, more than we have seen since perhaps the Ramos era. The first confirmed departures were that of Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha, their short-term contracts expiring and being free to find other clubs (QPR and Sunderland respectively). Our Croatian contingent have all now left the club, with Niko Kranjcar moving to Dinamo Kiev for a fee reportedly in the region of £5m, Vedran Corluka following national coach Slaven Bilic to Lokomotiv Moscow, and of course, the protracted transfer of Luka Modric to Real Madrid finally being completed in the last week. Modric’s transfer fee is believed to be in the region of approximately £30-35m, including add-ons and performance bonuses, and will inevitably help to fund some of the more extravagant transfers that Daniel Levy had seemingly denied Redknapp of in his last year at the club. It must be said, however, that Modric was a stunningly good player – in my opinion, the most technically gifted I have ever personally seen – and replacing him will not be easy.
Club Captain and Legend Ledley King announced his expected retirement due to his ongoing injury troubles this summer, leaving the door open for a new central defensive partnership to be formed. To replace the outgoing King, Jan Vertonghen was signed from Ajax after being present at the Lane for the final game of the season. With one year left on his Ajax contract, the transfer fee is thought to be in the region of just £10m, and Spurs have surely made a shrewd acquisition of one of the most cultured and skilful defenders in European football. Defender Sebastien Bassong also left the club, signing for Norwich, and Steven Pienaar completed his return to Everton following a highly successful loan spell. Finally, attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson was snatched away from Liverpool after it looked like he would be reunited with ex-Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers, and Emmanuel Adebayor’s complicated move from Manchester City was completed, with his previous club thought to be part financing the deal to allow Spurs to afford his wages.
New signing Gylfi Sigurdsson in action against West Brom.
Jermaine Jenas, David Bentley, and Michael Dawson are all free to leave the club this summer, although the latter appears reluctant to leave. Tom Huddlestone has also been linked with a loan move to regain match fitness following his long-term injury last season. The arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor appears to have cast Jermain Defoe’s future into doubt, and fans’ favourite Rafael Van der Vaart continues to be linked with a return to Hamburg, and while a move doesn’t seem likely, there has been plenty of speculation that for the right money, the club would be willing to accept an offer.
Further incomings
Transfers for more big names appear to have been coming to the fore within the last week. Lyon have confirmed they have accepted an offer for 25-year old goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who has been pursued by Spurs throughout the summer. First choice for both club and country, signing Lloris would be a major coup for Tottenham, and would also be perfectly timed to allow Brad Friedel to see out his final year at Spurs before retirement. Also near completion is a deal for Fulham’s Belgian midfielder Moussa Dembele, with Fulham also confirming an offer from Tottenham being accepted. Dembele, while not a direct Modric replacement, has all the qualities to shine at Spurs, having great skill on the ball, a fair bit of pace about him, as well as possessing good defensive traits and closing down opposition players well. Finally, it appears that Shakhtar Donetsk forward Willian is close to a move to White Hart Lane, with the clubs currently thought to be close on a transfer figure for the Brazilian international. Skilful with both feet and on either flank, Willian would provide essential backup and competition for Lennon and Bale on the wings, as well as adding an additional goal threat.
Moussa Dembele in action for Fulham against Manchester United last weekend.
The System
So, what have we seen so far at Spurs under AVB? In preseason, it appeared to very much be a case of experimentation, information gathering and giving all the players a chance to prove their worth. Most interestingly, there appeared to be a clear pattern of using a 4-2-3-1 type formation, with two of the central midfielders dropping deep, and the third playing in behind a striker. This is a contrast from the more orthodox 4-3-3 system used by AVB at Porto which I discussed previously. With Jermain Defoe playing alone up front, this was clearly never going to be particularly successful, as preseason results showed, but seemed a system tailor made for a player in the Adebayor mould. Another interesting point was that these positions were not fixed, with players changing positions and roles between and during games. Sigurdsson in particular showed a real versatility in playing both deep and attacking midfield roles. In the first two fixtures of the season against Newcastle and West Brom, we have seen a more familiar setup, with Sandro and Livermore playing deep, and one of Van der Vaart or Sigurdsson playing in the attacking midfielder’s position. In the absence of Luka Modric, there was no out-and-out playmaker in the squad, as often favoured by AVB, although Sigurdsson did show a wide range of passing and attacking play. While impressive in defence and possession, it was in hold-up play at the top end of the field, and creativity in the centre of midfield that were ultimately lacking and prevented Spurs converting their control of the games into goals. The introduction of Adebayor and Dembele into the lineup would undoubtedly inject these qualities into the team, and the way the squad lines up against Norwich this weekend could be very interesting indeed. The 4-2-3-1 system looks to be the favoured approach this season, although as in preseason, I think we could expect less strict roles for the midfield players and a lot of rotation.
Jan Vertonghen nearly scores a late winner against West Brom.
What can we look forward to?
The signings of Vertonghen, Sigurdsson, Adebayor, Dembele, Lloris and Willian completely change the complexion of the Spurs team. A young and highly talented central defensive partnership of Vertonghen and Kaboul can start to mature, with both already international standard players. Vertonghen’s ball-playing qualities in particular will hopefully mean we see a lot less of the “hoofing it” approach to defensive play. Adebayor has shown his abilities and value to the team last season with his 17 goals and 11 assists in the league, and will provide the essential hold up play and draw opposition defenders out of position, in turn allowing the creativity of Sigurdsson and Dembele to provide further goal scoring chances. Hugo Lloris can make the number 1 shirt his own for many years to come, and Willian providing the backup for Lennon and Bale will mean Spurs are still dangerous down the wings when either of these two are injured. In general, despite the odd doubter, many fans are pleased with how the “AVB system” has worked. Our defence our playing the high line well, with possession being retained well all the way from the back four. Our midfield has looked exciting and dynamic, with the opposition not being given any time or space on the ball thanks to the pressing tactics employed by AVB, and the prospect of their link up play with Adebayor still to come. Although an oft-overused phrase, we all know the importance of playing the “Tottenham Way”, and few could deny that our football has been very easy on the eye so far this season, despite results not going our way.
Potential lineup for this season following the conclusion of all transfer activity.
This needn’t be all that happens as regards transfer activity. As Spurs fans know, Daniel Levy is a canny businessman who has often made surprise signings from the blue on deadline day, with Van der Vaart’s transfer in the summer of 2010 being a fine example. Even with the addition of Adebayor, Spurs still look a little light upfront. It has been suggested in some quarters that the likes of a late move for AVB’s star striker at Porto, Radamel Falcao, could still happen, or a potential resurrection of the stalled deal to bring Internacional striker Leandro Damiao. One thing is for sure, the next couple of games could be very interesting indeed…
Push And Run 