In this series, we will analyse teams, identify problem areas, and suggest solutions
in the form of incoming players. We won’t follow gossip, rumours or conjecture. We’re concerned
only with a player’s on-field performance and their suitability for the role in question.
Today’s team is Tottenham Hotspur, welcome to Sensible Transfers.
2021-22 was a success for Tottenham. Despite arriving after the season began, Antonio Conte
was able to guide the club back to the Champions League and the reward for that will be a stronger
platform from which to recruit. And they’ll have greater funds with which to do it, too:
in a break with club policy, Spurs owners ENIC announced a £150m capital increase
in late May, meaning that their transfer budget is bigger than in many recent years.
And that’s good, because there’s plenty to do.
Some of their needs have already been fulfilled. Conte’s football leans heavily on the influence
of wing-backs and he inherited a Tottenham squad underpowered in that area. Matt Doherty found form
before getting injured, and Ryan Sessegnon and Emerson Royal each finished the season well, but
the department was still short on dynamism, speed and tangible production. Between the four of them,
Conte’s wing-backs contributed just five goals and ten assists last season and aesthetically,
both flanks lacked the kind of influence and ability that he’s profited from in the past.
This has been addressed. Croatian veteran Ivan Perisic has joined on a free-transfer
and Djed Spence, who won promotion from the Championship while on-loan at Nottingham Forest,
will be moving from Middlesbrough.
Spence is skilful, quick and likes to carry the ball forward, either on the touchline or infield.
He’s also 6ft tall and while some questions remain around his defensive positioning,
working under such a precise coach as Antonio Conte will surely improve his game.
On the other side, despite being 33, Perisic remains an outstanding
player whose attacking contribution will greatly enhance Conte’s wing-back options,
and who will bring a wealth of silverware and experience with him to North London.
Conte has forged a capable three-man defence from a trio of players he inherited:
Cristian Romero on the right, Eric Dier in the middle and Ben Davies on the left.
Davies performed well in his adapted position in the second half of the season. The external
centre-backs in a three have a more dynamic role, and are expected to contribute well ahead of the
defensive line. Davies did this, carrying the ball forward in an effective way, distributing
to a decent standard and – arguably – producing some of the best form of his Tottenham career.
So, he’s definitely not a problem, but still someone who can be upgraded. There are players
who could be more effective in advanced areas. There are also better defenders, too.
Josko Gvardiol has played on the left of RB Leipzig’s back-three this season
and, at 20, and over 6ft, he’s an alluring option. He’s a more skilful
and adventurous player than Davies, but has the distribution to accompany his ball-carrying.
Defensively, he’s more physically imposing too, and would add more height and aggression
to that outside position. And, while he would doubtless command a large fee and has a contract
that runs until 2026, Tottenham have indicated a willingness to spend heavily in this position.
Gvardiol would be a sensible option. Another regularly mentioned alternatives – for
multiple Premier League clubs – is Lille’s Sven Botman. He’s left-footed,
skilful and good on the ball, and he would be an excellent alternative to Dier in the central role.
However, he lacks the speed to play on the left of a back-three and so, for the sake of efficiency,
perhaps the better option is to find someone who can play both positions.
That’s a rare skillset, because defenders tend either to be static or progressive
and possess attributes suited to those contrasting roles.
Essentially, we’re looking for someone who has traditional defensive abilities like tackling,
heading, physicality and discipline, but blended with progressive qualities, too.
Known Tottenham target Alessandro Bastoni is one of those players, but he seems unlikely
to leave Inter Milan. Instead, we’re opting for Monaco’s Benoit Badiashile.
Having already sold Aurelien Tchouameni this summer for £100m, the French club
won’t be the easiest to negotiate with, but we’re undeterred. Badiashile is enormous.
He’s a towering centre-back. He’s 6ft4 and is as secure in the air as he sounds,
while also being a proactive defender who’s unafraid of defending higher up the pitch.
He spent last season as the left centre-half in a back-four,
but with his passing abilities, skill and speed, he would have little difficulty moving further
outside, even if his current role hasn’t produced the data to prove it conclusively.
The January arrival of Rodrigo Bentancur was a big factor in Spurs’ qualification for the
Champions League, with his partnership with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg providing a stable base.
However, that midfield two remains a source of precious little creativity,
with both players better described as volume passers rather than progressive ones.
Conte has Oliver Skipp to return from injury and Yves Bissouma has been signed and added
to his squad. Bissouma is by no means a playmaker though and so there remains a
need for someone who can operate within the framework of Conte’s structure football,
with its automatisms and set patterns, but with imagination and creativity.
Christian Eriksen is a very obvious solution. His recovery saw him perform
miraculously well at Brentford and produce the kind of contribution
that was often typical of his time at Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino.
Eriksen has a prior relationship with many existing members of Spurs’ squad
and, despite a difficult start, became an important player for Antonio Conte during his
title-winning year at Inter Milan. Eriksen understands what it is to play for Conte,
his adjustment into this playing group would likely be seamless and he’s available on a free.
He seems likely to move elsewhere, though, so another option would be Napoli’s Fabian Ruiz.
He spent 2021-22 in a double-pivot alongside Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa – a more defensively
orientated central midfielder – but acted as a deep-lying playmaker. Ruiz is a good
long and medium range shooter, something which Conte doesn’t currently have in his midfield,
but – more importantly – would provide a combination of creative passing,
skilful ball carrying and ambition that Tottenham lack.
He's at peak age and won’t turn 27 until 2023, and has recently refused to sign a contract extension
at Napoli, meaning that – with just 12 months remaining – he’s almost certainly leaving the
club this summer and likely for a reasonable fee. Tottenham managing director Fabio Paratici has
shown a continued preference for recruiting from Serie A and so this would be a Sensible Transfer
to align nicely with what the club and add to what they’ve already done