If Spurs lose their stars this summer, can they find replacements in the Premier League?
With Spurs in a real 50-50 scenario which could see them miss out on the much coveted Champions League spot for next season, there have been suggestions of key players wanting to leave White Hart Lane to pursue their ambitions.
Gareth Bale is the stand out example of this for Spurs with talk of a £40 million deal having already been agreed between Barcelona and the North London club. It may or may not be true, but there is often no smoke without fire.
Bale has cited his international team’s lack of qualification for major tournaments for his need to be consistently involved in Europe’s premier competition, the Champions League.
Undoubtedly one of Spurs’ best players of the last few seasons, it would be a big loss for Harry Redknapp’s men on the left hand side, however, £40 million would surely be enough to find a more than capable replacement and still have £20 million left over?
Manchester City winger Adam Johnson is a name that springs to mind as a candidate to succeed Bale in that left sided position should he leave. With a similar attacking mindset to Gareth Bale, but maybe not as quick (not many are to be fair), Johnson has also got good delivery from the wide positions.
The question is whether or not Roberto Mancini will want to sell Johnson to a potential Premier League rival next season? Johnson’s fellow club and international colleague James Milner could be another alternative, who is more of a right sided player that can do a good job on the left cutting in on his right foot and pop up with a ‘screamer’ of a goal from 30 yards out.
Milner has also shown himself to being more than capable of playing in the middle, so his versatility could be an attractive proposition for Harry Redknapp along with his consistent hard work and being a team player. Again, how willing would City be to sell to a potential title contender?
It is also important to point out that Johnson and Milner have not seen as much football as they would have liked in Mancini’s rotational policy and with David Silva impressing as always, and this could prove to be detrimental to their international ambitions, so perhaps they would be keen on a move to a Tottenham side that has a similar attacking philosophy to their current club.
Fulham’s John Arne Riise would be a good signing for Tottenham on the left hand side and he can play both midfield and full back, and Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen is equally as good a player that can play that wide role.
The skilful Luka Modric is another player who could leave in the summer, as he almost did so last season for £40 million to Chelsea. Failure to qualify for the Champions League could further his ambition to leave the club to pursue pastures new at another club.
Chelsea are likely to be interested again, and Manchester United are also big admirers of the Croatian. Tottenham have Niko Krancjar who is a similar player to Modric who could fill that attacking and creative role in midfield in Modric’s absence.
However with £40 million Redknapp would be keen to bring in a world class player to bolster the squad. Perhaps not players who can be deemed to be ‘world class’ but players of proven quality nonetheless, Everton’s Tim Cahill and Fulham’s Clint Dempsey are players currently in their prime, who have been fantastic for their respective clubs and who are regarded as players that can step up to the plate for the teams challenging in the top four. What about Moussa Dembele at Fulham?
Again, David Moyes and Martin Jol are unlikely to want to let their best players’ leave their respective clubs. Steven Pienaar’s revival at Everton on loan will have surely caught the eye of Redknapp and we may well see Pienaar feature more for Spurs next season if he does return to White Hart Lane.
Redknapp will be keen to keep striker Adebayor and will be looking to bring in a few more bodies to bolster his striking options. Relegated Blackburn’s Yakubu and Junior Hoilett are potential options, both scoring goals in a poor Blackburn team.
Wigan’s Victor Moses is another option, a small but powerful player, perhaps similar to Jermain Defoe, which may lead to Redknapp looking elsewhere. In saying that, Jermain Defoe has not featured as much as he would have liked for Spurs this season and may be looking to move to gain first team football with no shortage of clubs willing to take him.
It goes to show how clubs such as Tottenham really do need to get that all important Champions League spot in order to push on to ‘the next level’.
The allure of Champions League football attracts the top players to a club and provides the platform for a team to bring in the Champions League revenue to invest in better players and to challenge for silverware.
Without Champions League qualification for Spurs, it will be another nervous summer for Redknapp as he battles to keep hold of his best players and looks to bring in quality players to improve his squad.
Are any of these players good enough for Spurs or should they look abroad?
image: © andybrannan
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