Trevor Sinclair doesn’t think Tottenham will challenge for the title for a couple of years.
Trevor Sinclair
Pundit Trevor Sinclair has told BBC Sport’s Match of the Day 2 Extra that he thinks Tottenham have lost ground on their rivals due to their transfer business.
Tottenham have dropped just four points in the first five games of the Premier League season and remain unbeaten, but the 2-1 defeat to Monaco in the Champions League appears to have put a blot on their copy book.
Sunday’s 1-0 win over Sunderland keeps the momentum ticking over for Mauricio Pochettino as he looks to build on last season’s third place finish, but some aren’t so confident that Tottenham can repeat last season’s title challenge.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
With Manchester City dominating under Pep Guardiola, Manchester United investing heavily in the likes of Eric Bailly and Paul Pogba, Chelsea harnessing a new era under Antonio Conte, Liverpool looking strong with Jurgen Klopp at the helm and Arsenal always around the top four, Spurs have great competition – and that’s without even mentioning Everton and Leicester, who could also be in the mix for the top four.
Now, pundit Trevor Sinclair has offered a bold claim to BBC Sport’s Match of the Day 2 Extra, stating that he thinks Tottenham’s transfer business over the summer wasn’t up to the standard they required, and have subsequently lost ground on their rivals.
Sinclair noted that Tottenham’s stadium plans may be a drain on finances, but predicted that Tottenham wont challenge for the title for at least a couple of years, adding that fans must now be patient.
“I think you look at what the other teams have done in the top six or seven of the Premier League,” said Sinclair. “As in, in the transfer window and then subsequently how they’ve performed since then. I feel Spurs didn’t do as much business as, for instance, Manchester City, who finished below them, and a few other clubs.”
“I just feel they’ve lost a bit of ground, whereas they could have got a bit of momentum; they finished third last season, could have been second and could have even finished as champions, so I feel it was an important time for them. They’ve got the stadium, so maybe they’re concentrating on getting that finished and putting their finances into that, so the fans will just have to be patient, because what happened last year, I don’t think that’s going to happen again for a couple of years,” he added.
Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko
Tottenham added five new faces over the summer; goalkeeper Pau Lopez, holding midfielder Victor Wanyama, the versatile Moussa Sissoko, winger Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and striker Vincent Janssen, who have added great depth to the Spurs squad.
Manager Pochettino was never going to spend huge money on big-name players, as his methods focus on player development and great energy. In Lopez and Wanyama, he’s signed players he worked with at previous clubs, whilst Nkoudou and Janssen are both young players signed at reasonable prices who can be developed, and Sissoko offers great energy for Pochettino’s pressing game.
They didn’t shatter world records and maybe their signings don’t grab the headlines, but those additions show a clear plan under Pochettino, and Spurs fans may well prefer that than spending exorbitant sums of money on players who see the club as a stepping stone.
What did you think of Tottenham’s summer transfer activity?
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