ITK at SpursCommunity has a post saying nothing but "Lleaving". sounds like Llorente may be on his way out. I can't say I'd lose a lot of sleep over that, were it to come to pass ... though it's probably just asking the footy gods for a Harry Kane injury.
we've done a lot of quiet business over the last couple of years. not that I'll be shocked if it doesn't happen, of course; but I certainly wouldn't be shocked if it did, either. of course, it's possible that 'Lleaving' could mean Lloris, as well. but I'd just as soon not even contemplate that.
ok i seem to be living in a cave recently. why did Liverpool let Sturridge out on loan? has he been that bad for them this season?
In other news, Daniel Levy is determined to squeeze every last ounce of value out of the new stadium. Spurs have applied to Haringey Council to increase the capacity to 62,000, which would be an increase of 441 seats. I always thought the capacity should have been 60,061 in honour of Bill Nicholson's double-winning side.
It is hard to judge Llorente, he has barely been used by Poch, considering all the fuss Spurs made about acquiring him. Although I don't think Harry fancies having a strike partner. It didn't work out that well with Janssen either and I don't remember him lighting it up with Adebayor or Soldado in the dark days of Sherwood-mania...
Sounds like Lucas wouldn't be coming till the summer though... apparently the PSG boss said he wouldn't let him leave according to a few articles I saw online.
I've seen so much ITK saying that it's as good as done that I know one thing for sure: it'll never happen.
Merry-go-round: Giroud was lined up to replace Aubameyang at Dortmund then got offer from Chelsea & was keen, so Dortmund turned to Batshuayi. But Chelsea baulked at Giroud fee so discussed Batshuayi/Llorente swap with Spurs, which nobody agreed on. Deadlock #AFC #BVB #CFC THFC pic.twitter.com/HA6ymZ6IiN— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) January 29, 2018 So crazy it might just be true.
Been seeing the Abameyang to Arsenal since Sanchez moved north. But that is really...I don't know...wild.
It is official, Lucas Moura is a Tottenham player! http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/moura-move-agreed-310118/ Hopefully, that will spell the end for Sissoko.
I'm not the biggest fan of Levy when it comes to his purchasing decisions. At times, he can be too frugal for the club's own good while other times, he can be reckless. That being said, it would've been so easy for him to play the "poor" card one final time. While £25m is not a lot of money in this market, it wasn't that long ago when that number would've been a club record. Credit where credit is due: the manager saw a player he liked at a decent price and Levy made it happen. He didn't make excuses. He just did it.
I will say that in the past couple of years, Levy has turned over a bit of a new leaf regarding player transfers.
Levy has definitely evolved when it comes to transfers, although every so often, his old brinkmanship comes through. A few thoughts here. 1. The market has changed, what with astronomical wages and agent fees. Spurs can generally afford the transfer fees, but they cannot meet the wage demands of the Sanchez's and Aubamayangs of the world (this will have to change once they move into the new stadium, or the team will not be able to compete). 2. As Poch said, Spurs have to be opportunistic in the market. PSG had to offload Moura for financial reasons, the fee was reasonable and his wage packet met Spurs structure - a similar case with Aurier. 3. Here is our starting Xi against United and their transfer fees in sterling: Kane (academy) Dele (5) Eriksen (11) Son (22) Dembélé (15) Wanyama (11) Dier (4) Davies (swap) Vertonghen (10) Sanchez (42) Trippier (3.5) Lloris (12) So 135.5 million to put that XI together while Pogba and Lukaku alone are 179 million.
the gap between what the manager wants/expects in players and what Levy is prepared to deliver seems to be smaller than at any time in the past. Whether that's down to the structure (certainly the conflicts between some of Levy's DoFs and prior managers have been significant) currently in place, down to Levy's increased trust in Poch (which you'd have to say has been earned), down to the financial outlook being more secure as the stadium/project develops, or just down to Pochettino understanding how Levy works, I won't hazard a guess. But despite the odd miss - Llorente, Sissoko, etc. - he typically still seems to buy in a manner that will make his players sound investments in strictly financial (as well as footballing) terms. He's really, really good at it. and to be fair, he's always been very good at it. the difference now (to my mind, anyway) is that it's better synced with his manager's needs and abilities. ... or maybe the biggest difference between then and now is that we've clearly clamped down on loose talk, and the reduction in rampant ITK just makes it all appear less of a big chaotic mess that it seemed before.
Good points there, certainly Poch knows how to manage up. Levy does not fancy a manager who likes the sound of his own voice (see Redknapp, AVB and Sherwood). Poch is his dream manager because he gets results, doesn't moan in the press about the lack of funds and is very vanilla with the press. Levy has also learned from past mistakes. Remember, he comes from a business background and had no prior experience with running a football club. The transfer business is still a crapshoot (see Sissoko, Soldado, Chriches, etc.), but you are right, the signings of the last few years have responded to the needs of the first team. And of course luck plays its part too. Remember, Levy had Van Gaal lined up to replace Sherwood, but that fell through when David Moyes got sacked at United. Otherwise the Pochettino revolution would never have happened. I shudder to think where we would be had we hired Van Gaal...
I would also add that in the pre-Poch days, Spurs were not taken seriously. Yes, there was the odd player to come through the ranks - King, Bale, and Campbell come to mind (and Gazza going back) - but Spurs have not really been the serous team that Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea since Bates, and recently Man City have been and still are. Along with the above two posts, this allowed for crazy/stupid rumors like Messi coming to Spurs. Now that Poch is here, there is a seriousness that exists, and this seems to match Levy's improvement.
Luke Shaw? Been quite a few comments about him and Spurs, even coming from ex Man Utd players. Maureeno is making Shaw the scapegoat for all of Man Utd's woes, so I can't see him sticking around. Would you like to see Shaw at Spurs if/when Rose ships out?
Ryan Sessegnon would be the ideal replacement for Rose, if he does head north. All the potential in the world, playing as an attacking left back, wing back or even as a wide forward. Problem might be the price and competition for his signature, although we can at least point to a recent history of taking in young English talent and seeing them through to the full national team. Failing that, Shaw would be a good bet - there's undoubtedly a very fine left back in there. Best case scenario would be lighting a fire under Danny's arse and get him playing again though. He's as good as there is at left back when he's on song.