Jamie O’Hara believes Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte would be a ‘great signing’ for Tottenham but, speaking to talkSPORT (24 June, 9:00am), he cannot see why the Premier League winner would want to join the London club.
When Daniel Levy told Jose Mourinho to clear out his office at the end of April, the reaction from many Spurs supporters was one of relief.
Little did they know, back then, that Tottenham would still be on the lookout for a replacement over two months later.
Talks with the likes of Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca, Julen Lopetegui and Gennaro Gattuso broke down, while Julian Nagelsmann, Jesse Marsch and Rui Vitoria also slipped through their fingers.
The events of the last nine weeks will have done little to convince wantaway captain Harry Kane that he would be better off staying put, either.
Manchester City have put forward £100 million for the England international, according to Fabrizio Romano, while offering the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and £57 million Spain international Laporte in exchange.
Would Aymeric Laporte really leave Man City for Tottenham?
But, as O’Hara pointed out, why would anyone with ambitions of thriving at the highest level consider joining a Spurs side who, two years after playing Liverpool in the Champions League final, are gearing up for midweek trips to Kazakhstan, Belarus and Finland in the UEFA Conference League?
“If Harry Kane’s going to go, I’d take Laporte. He’d be a great signing, Laporte,” said former Tottenham midfielder O’Hara.
“No (I wouldn’t join if I was Laporte). You’ve got to get a really good manager who is going to convince players to come to the football club. Laporte, in my opinion, is a top-class centre-half.
“He’s playing for Spain! He’ll go back to Madrid or something.
“I think that’s what the problem is, managers are looking at it, top managers, Conte, the Sevilla manager (Lopetegui), they’re going to say: ‘Look at the squad without Kane. It’s not that great’.
“’Are you going to back me and give me the £150 million, £200 million needed to rebuild that team?’ No.
“We’ve had a massive fall from grace. We are not the Spurs that played Liverpool in the Champions League final. We need to rebuild and we need to be realistic.”
Keeping Kane is one thing. Replacing him may be an even bigger challenge.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
