Nuno Espirito Santo has claimed that it is ‘very hard’ to improve on this Tottenham Hotspur squad, due to the existing quality that he has inherited.
Nuno has faced a difficult first month as Spurs boss since replacing Jose Mourinho as the club’s head coach.
Things have got much harder for the Portuguese this week when star player Harry Kane failed to report for pre-season training, amid speculation about a move to Manchester City.
So far, Nuno and managing director Fabio Paratici have signed two players – goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini on loan from Atalanta, and winger Bryan Gil from Sevilla in a part-exchange that saw Erik Lamela go to Spain.
Much more is needed if the Lilywhites are going to improve on their seventh-placed finish in the Premier League last season – and that’s even if they wind up hanging on to Kane.
But when asked about the prospect of more signings, Nuno said via The Metro: “We are working very hard on that aspect. But it is very hard to improve our squad because we have very good players.”
And suffice to say that some Spurs fans aren’t chuffed with their manager’s claim.
Is it hard?
Well, yes and no.
It goes without saying that Tottenham need a lot more quality in the squad but, by the same token, it isn’t a case of just signing anybody.
The Kane debacle is going to make it difficult for Nuno and Paratici because their true transfer budget is going to be much higher if the 28-year-old striker does wind up joining City for what would be a nine-figure amount.
But Spurs certainly can’t spend in the belief that the deal will go through just incase it does not – and even if he does leave, it won’t be until late in the transfer window and that gives the North Londoners very little time in which to get more deals done.
This is a really difficult and testing period for the club and time will tell how they manage it.
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