According to Sky Sports, Tottenham will consider offers for trio Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele before the transfer window closes. All three have previously been important players for the north London team. However, for one reason or another, they are now sellable and could all leave before the summer transfer deadline next week.
Different reasons for their status
All three players were key players for Spurs at the start of last season. However, as we approached the summer transfer window their situations had changed at the north London club.
Danny Rose had made some silly comments last summer that did not help his situation. Welsh international Ben Davies then usurped Rose as Spurs first choice left-back, as the England international had struggled with injuries.
Alderweireld also experienced injury problems last season, but when it became apparent that talks over a new deal had stalled, the Belgian international found himself frozen out of the team. Dembele started just 21 games last season after previously being a mainstay of the Tottenham team in previous seasons. It seems his heavy influence is no longer needed in the central of the Tottenham midfield.
Alderweireld and Dembele are big assets to Tottenham, and the fact that they are both now in the last year of their respective deals is the reason Spurs are attempting to sell the pair. If they do not sign new deals, they could walk away from the club as free agents next season.
Tottenham have failed to strengthen
It is all well and good Spurs attempting to sell players, but they also need to bring players into their small squad. Boss Mauricio Pochettino has endured a frustrating time in the transfer market this summer. The north London club has not yet strengthened their squad. They have been linked with moves for Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha.
However, they have not yet brought any fresh faces into their squad. With time running out they need to bring in quality additions or they could fall further behind their top-four rivals next season.
Will not win the title
The problem for Tottenham is that they have very a good starting eleven, but not enough quality backup players. At some point in every season, the first choice eleven droops in energy and seem fatigued.
During this period is where Spurs start to lose crucial games. Eventually, the poor run of form costs Pochettino’s team the chance to win the title. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is often criticised for his rotation policy.
However, last season he worked rotation to perfection as the Citizens romped away with the Premier League title. Tottenham cannot recruit the same quality of backup players as City, though. Guardiola keeps everybody happy. However, players are not willing to move to Tottenham as backup players, as they want to play regularly.
Pochettino has created a very good team at Tottenham. Nevertheless, they have hit a ceiling to what they can achieve. The next step for Spurs is winning the Premier League title. Looking at it as a neutral, I cannot see Tottenham winning the title in the new campaign. The main reason is that they cannot compete with the financial resources of the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea.
Not being able to compete with the trio means that they are unlikely to be able to sign the quality of player to be able to challenge for the title.
Will Tottenham manage to add quality players to their squad?