Tottenham Transfer Focus: Who they need and who they don't

11-Jul-2012 10:13:00 AM

Just missing out on, well, everything last season, this season will take a new direction under Andre Villas- Boas

Previous Season Performance

Premier League: 4th

Europa League: Group stage

F.A. Cup: Semi-finals

Carling Cup: Third round

Positions that need Reinforcements

There seems to be a major overhaul on at White Hart Lane as Daniel Levy brings back his policy of buying young talent and potential, completely in tune with the policy of his new manager Andre Villas-Boas. Having been sidetracked by Harry Redknapp's (very effective) utility buys, several of them have been sold or released this summer.

With the release of Louis Saha,
Spurs have only ONE out-and-out
striker in their ranks

The midfield and defence are the most prominently affected departments, with both right back Verdran Corluka and utility midfielder Niko Kranjcar departing for Lokomotiv Moscow and Dynamo Kiev respectively. Admittedly, neither got much game time and that was a major factor for their departure, but that does not change the fact that they must be replaced, either with a signing of equal ability or by a quality player, which will involve pushing someone down the pecking order. That is where the signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson comes in. It is hard to see another quality midfielder join knowing that there will be a serious lack of game time in the four man midfield Spurs had last season, all of them seemingly undroppable. Either they are gearing up for losing players, or are looking to improve bench strength, or, even more likely, will change formation to AVB's preferred 4-2-3-1.

The other huge problem is up front. With Emmanuel Adebayor only being a loan player, the release of Louis Saha has left Spurs with only ONE out and out striker in Jermain Defoe. There are serious considerations to be made for this position. While they are in talks to make the Adebayor deal a permanent one, his astronomical wages might make Levy think twice.

Even the Tottenham defence needs shoring up. Ryan Nelsen has been released. William Gallas is rumoured to be angling at yet another move while Ledley King, with his chronic knee problem assesses his future. However, the purchase of Jan Vertonghen has more or less allayed defensive fears for this season at least.

Finally, there will come a time when Brad Friedel will be past it, though it doesn't look like that will be any time soon. But he eventually has to be phased out. Probably on the bench while one of Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes is sold or released.

Who's Likely to Come In?

When there is such extensive rebuilding to be done It is quite obvious that Spurs are going to be linked to some of the biggest and the best in the world of football. So let's start position-wise so as to not get lost in a maze.

First up would be goalkeeper. The name with a tangible bid made is Lyon's Hugo Lloris.

Next comes defense. The full back positions are accounted for, so all that remains for the short term would be finding a star defender to partner (the most likely starter) Younes Kaboul. That has been accounted for with the sigining of Vertoghen.

The midfield looks secure with the signature of Gylfi Sigurdsson but only apparently. With reports of Luka Modric's transfer to Real Madrid all but final, and possibilities of van der Vaart looking for a move away to Germany there might be more transfers to make than meets the eye. The first name on the wishlist, thanks to his obvious AVB association is Porto's Joao Moutinho. Other targets include Alan Dzagoev and Internacional's Oscar, although Chelsea have apparently beaten their London rivals in that particular race.

Finally, up front, the biggest name is last season's strike-hero, Emmanuel Adebayor, whom Spurs want to buy permanently. The other attacking midfielder/converted forward touted as a target is Leandro Damiao and an outside whisper remains for Bilbao star Fernando Llorente.

Probable Departures

Several players have departed the club already, with four of the first team squad gone. Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha have been released while Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar have both been sold. Yet that doesn't seem to be enough with several more likely to head out of the Lane this summer. David Moyes wants Steven Pienaar back at Everton, Giovani dos Santos is desperately looking for a way out, Luka Modric is likely to be sold to Real Madrid and Rafael van der Vaart might leave for Schalke.

Looks like it's going to be revolution and not evolution this time for AVB.

Formation

GOALKEEPER

Brad Friedel
(Heurelho Gomes)
(Carlo Cudicini)
(Hugo Lloris (?) )

RIGHT-BACK	CENTRE BACK	CENTRE BACK	LEFT-BACK
Kyle Walker (Kyle Naughton)	Younes Kaboul (William Gallas)	Jan Vertonghen (Ledley King)	Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Sebastien Bassong)

CENTRAL MIDFIELDER (DEFENSIVE)	CENTRAL MIDFIELDER (PLAYMAKER)
Scott Parker (Sandro)	Luka Modric (?) (Jake Livermore)

RIGHT WINGER	CENTRAL ATTACKING MIDFIELDER	LEFT WINGER
Aaron Lennon (David Bentley)	Gylfi Sigurdsson (Rafael van der Vaart (?) )	Gareth Bale (Steven Pienaar (?) )

CENTRE FORWARD

Emmanuel Adebayor (?)
(Jermain Defoe)
(Giovani dos Santos (?) )

Fan Zone

Jasjeev Singh opines "If Modric does leave , then I'd love to have Joao Moutinho and of course he'd work well with AVB , considering how their relationship's been.

Piyush Nathani exuberantly proclaims, "I'd like to see Gonzalo Higuain at the Lane next season, mainly because of his speed and skill. We are in desperate need of a striker for 2 years now. So I'd like to see him in a Lilywhite shirt. He can certainly score 30 goals in a season. With AVB being a huge fan of his, the deal might just happen!"

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