Thomas Frank's January transfer plan at Tottenham has clearly not worked - opinion
The January transfer window is about to close and it’s safe to say it’s not been a successful month for Tottenham at all.
The signing of Conor Gallagher is a decent one for Spurs, adding experience and quality to the midfield area. In Souza, the Lilywhites have a very promising young left-back but probably not a player who can make an impact right now.
It’s no secret that signing a new left winger was a top priority for Tottenham this month. And yet, there’s been no movement in that area; apart from selling Brennan Johnson, of course.
Clearly, something has gone wrong behind the scenes, especially when you consider what Thomas Frank said about Tottenham’s transfer strategy for the winter window.
Tottenham had six targets for each position – what happened?
At the start of the month, Frank said Spurs had six targets for each area they wanted to bolster. The plan was to go for the top target, and then work down the list if needs be, before acquiring a suitable player to reinforce the squad.
He said: “We have lists of players and we have priority numbers one, two, three, four, five and six in every position. And if we go to number six… it’s probably not as good as you want. Is number six good enough for us to get to where we want to be in the future? Probably not. But it’s a fine balance.”
How, then, are we in the final days of the transfer window and seemingly nowhere near signing anyone to strengthen the wide areas?
Are we to assume that the six targets have all fallen through, didn’t want to come, or were too expensive? Or have Spurs simply dilly-dallied and failed to make the right move for the right player?
Whichever way you look at it, it’s a calamity. Any big club — or a club wanting to act like they belong in the Big Six, at least — should have a clear transfer strategy, with obtainable targets, and most importantly, they should act on that strategy.
From the outside, it doesn’t feel like Tottenham have made any kind of meaningful moves to sign a new winger. We’ve seen the deal for Andy Robertson fall through and murmurs of a new goalkeeper coming in, but those areas really weren’t a priority at all.
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The wingers Spurs have missed out on this month
If we look at some of the players who were linked with Tottenham over the last month or so, we can perhaps learn a little bit about what’s gone wrong.
Antoine Semenyo has long been touted as a Tottenham target, but he swiftly made the switch to Man City. That’s fair enough; it’s a big move for him and it’s hard to compete with City in that respect.
However, rumours around the likes of Omar Marmoush, Savinho, and Yan Diomande have come to nothing. They’re all still with their current clubs, so should we assume that Spurs simply haven’t made the right offer?
Tottenham are now linked with Moussa Diaby. However, the former Aston Villa ace looks destined to join Inter Milan instead.
Maghnes Akliouche may be the best, but even he will cost around £50m. Whether Spurs are willing to stump up that kind of cash remains to be seen.
As long as Tottenham don’t sign Raheem Sterling on a free, I’ll be happy. However, signing no one would be just as frustrating at this point.
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