Tottenham Hotspur arguably enjoyed a pretty good window on reflection in the summer of 2007.
With Tottenham once again threatening to challenge for the Premier League title this season, Mauricio Pochettino will know how crucial a summer he faces as he looks to make the additions that will take his side to the next level.
With that in mind, HITC Sport is taking a look back at some of the previous windows that Tottenham have enjoyed or endured in recent years, starting with the summer window in 2007…
The previous season
Tottenham had enjoyed an excellent campaign in 2006/07, finishing fifth in the Premier League, reaching the quarter-finals of both the FA Cup and UEFA Cup while going one stage further in the League Cup.
Mido
Who left?
Spurs appeared to remove a lot of their fringe players with Reto Ziegler heading to Sampdoria, Mark Yeates moving to Colchester, Emil Hallfredsson leaving for Lyn Oslo and underwhelming striker Mido joining Middlesbrough for £6 million (via BBC Sport).
Danny Murphy also left for Fulham on a season-long loan.
Who came in?
At the time, Tottenham’s marquee signing was £16.5 million striker Darren Bent (via BBC Sport), but in hindsight, it was two of their other acquisitions – incredibly, their two initially least expensive signings of the window – who made or have made the greatest impact at White Hart Lane.
Kevin Prince Boateng cost Spurs £5.4 million (via BBC Sport) and Younes Kaboul arrived for £8 million (via Guardian), while Gareth Bale and Danny Rose arrived for a combined £5 million from Southampton and Leeds respectively (via BBC Sport and BBC Sport).
Bale went on to establish himself as the Premier League’s best player before moving to Real Madrid, while Danny Rose is perhaps the best left-back in the top flight currently.
And a repeat of that window this time around would surely be incredibly beneficial, even if Bale and Rose did not make an instant impact following their moves.
Gareth Bale
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