Despite the recent form of Dembele, Sandro and Dempsey Spurs are still reportedly in the hunt for a new midfielder in January, with a host of big names on Andre Villas-Boas and Daniel Levy’s radar.
As the New Year inches closer, the intensity of the transfer rumours around White Hart Lane has stepped up a notch. In recent years this would have been fed by the always happy to chat Harry Redknapp, but the fact that Andre Villas-Boas has been relatively tight-lipped has not stopped speculation about his plans for January.
Wesley Sneijder is the man currently being linked with a move to Tottenham, but this seems incredibly unlikely to the point where it can be dismissed out of hand. The reason Sneijder is on the brink of an exit from Inter is because the club want him to take a pay cut, and there’s little doubt that his wages are beyond the reach of Spurs’ rigid structure. There are maybe only three or four clubs in Europe who would be able to finance a deal for Sneijder, and Spurs are not one of them, even if the Dutch international was prepared to make the move.
Two players who may be more realistic targets for Spurs are Christian Eriksen and Miralem Pjanic, but recent events might have made January moves more difficult.
Eriksen has confirmed his status as one of the hottest prospects in Europe with his performances for Ajax this year, particularly in their Champions League “group of death”. Ajax qualified for the Europa League from that group, and with Eriksen reportedly being targeted by some of the giants of European football, he may choose to see out the season at Ajax before taking his pick of clubs. If Spurs were to make a sizeable January offer for Eriksen, there is a chance they could steal a march on other clubs, but this move looks unlikely at this stage.
Miralem Pjanic had looked the most achievable target of all, with the player out of favour at Roma and reportedly keen on a winter move to London. However Pjanic has recently been integrated back into the Roma starting eleven, and has been central to their fine recent form. This might lessen the chances of a January transfer considerably, with a summer move a more realistic possibility for Spurs.
However Tottenham do seem to be keen on bringing in reinforcements in January, with last years end of season slump caused by a winter transfer window where their big name signings were Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen. If they are prepared to pay slightly inflated January fees, and this is a big if where Daniel Levy is concerned, then there might be significant activity in January, but most of Spurs’ reported targets would involve breaking either the club’s wage structure or record transfer fee, both of which are unlikely.
images: © Zweifüssler, © Patrick de Laive
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