“So what did this game give me? Nothing. Nothing at all”. For some managers, pre-season has no meaning and is pointless to any preparation, a detriment possibly. Yet for others, it’s valuable time to assess a squad. Tottenham Hotspur are coming off the back of a draining and enduring season that ultimately ended up in disappointment. Arguably, the job Mauricio Pochettino did this season was outstanding, considering he has made no signings since January 2018. However, after 13 Premier League defeats and finishing in the final Champions League place above Arsenal, fatigue was always going to happen.
So how will Singapore help? Time away from the relaxing summer may not feel like a blessing for most, but for a man like Pochettino, he will be desperate to get the most out of a side edging closer to their peak. Harry Kane is 26, Dele Alli 23 while Christian Eriksen is 27, and with key centre-backs Jan Vertonghen (31) and Toby Alderweireld (30) the wrong side of 30, an era without a trophy with this squad used to be unthinkable but is now becoming a reality. Heroics against Manchester City and Ajax had people thinking the impossible, similarities between Chelsea‘s 2012 success on the road to Munich, but it wasn’t to be. The wait goes on for Pochettino and Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur Need a Strong Summer in Singapore
Need for Progression
This summer will be Pochettino’s fifth in charge of the North London club and, after giving hints that he may be ready to quit amid links with Juventus, this could well be the most important in recent history. First, the Argentine needs to address the fringe players costing a fortune rotting away on the bench or in the reserves. Vincent Janssen simply hasn’t worked out and isn’t even trusted enough to make an appearance. Both Georges-Kévin Nkoudou and Josh Onomah need a loan move or push into the first team, but with Harry Winks starting when fully fit and now Oliver Skipp getting minutes, you have to wonder where the game time is coming from.
Spur’s pre-season last year resulted in them being overall International Champions Cup winners with wins over AC Milan and Roma, plus a 2-2 draw against Barcelona, a game in which Nkoudou scored. So does pre-season matter too much, as in how the squad will be shaped in the coming months? Of the 11 that started in the 4-1 win over Roma, only Cameron Carter-Vickers ended up leaving the club on loan, while the rest featured during the 2018/19 season.
Pretty normal you could say, but clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool often play youngsters in pre-season with the view to giving them vital experience around the first-team, but end up out at lower-league sides. For Tottenham, they see this as a luxury. With a chairman at the helm in Daniel Levy, a shrewd businessman, not the easiest to part with money, having a bigger pool of ready-made players isn’t as easily available.
Reinforcements?
Tanguy Ndombele of Lyon has been linked and could be announced soon according to football.london’s Tashan Deniran-Alleyne. As well, Giovanni Lo Celso at Real Betis is linked this summer, with Spurs having lodged a £53 million bid according to BBC Sport’s Matt Davis. What Ndombele brings is tenacity, power and a box to box drive that the squad has been lacking in general, let alone the second half of recent seasons. At 22, he fits the ethos of the club’s policy; buy young players with sell-on value. To establish themselves at the top table, though, and amongst the elite of European football, Tottenham must shake off this selling club tag.
Having seen Luka Modric and Gareth Bale leave the club in the last decade, both to Real Madrid and with Christian Eriksen linked with following, Spurs need to convince their prime superstars this is the right club for them. With Real Madrid finally purchasing Eden Hazard from Chelsea, interest in Eriksen could understandably drop. However, if the Galacticos cannot grab Paul Pogba, then a move for the Dane is still a possibility. With one years’ experience of the earlier transfer window closing, Tottenham must be cautious of Eriksen, with no replacement being linked, it would be naive to suggest he’ll stay with the lure of Madrid in the wing mirrors.
A Look Ahead to Next Season
So what are their hopes ahead of 2019/20? Chelsea’s transfer ban and loss of Hazard potentially opens up a Champions League place, but with Liverpool’s appeal to top players growing stronger after their win in Madrid, Manchester City being Manchester City and Manchester United making early moves, you would think Spurs need to add to a small pool of players in comparison. With Aston Villa up first, a trip to City ahead of a North London derby a fortnight later, this needs to be hit head-on with optimism.
With the engine of Ndombele, Alli and Winks, there can be a drive from midfield to match the tempo similar to both City and Liverpool. So, with an ability to rotate and blend in youth players in cup games, who knows what Tottenham’s real potential can be. There is nothing Spurs can’t achieve. They just need to speed it up a bit.
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