As many as six players who have featured regularly for the first team are expected to leave Tottenham this summer as Mauricio Pochettino makes Manchester United’s Anthony Martial his top target, according to the London Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim that Spurs could see a mix of experience senior stars and a couple of fringe figures leave the north London side, with the club having made a slow start to the transfer window.
Regular stars Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele and Danny Rose, attacking flops Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente and fringe figures Georges-Kevin N’Koudou and Marcus Edwards, both of which were shipped out on loan last season, the latter having just one senior appearance, are the names said to be destined for the exit door.
It is reported that a new striking option, one who is versatile enough to play in other positions, is the club’s priority, and that Pochettino has made Martial his number one option.
Good move for Tottenham?
There will have to be some serious negotiations between now and the start of August if Spurs are hoping to cash in on all those players, but the cash they could get from their sales could fund a massive step up in quality.
The likes of Janssen, Llorente and N’Koudou are simply a drain on resources, while the others, Edwards excluded, have all proven their worth at the very top.
It would take some doing to fill the voids that their exits would leave, but it is a step in the right direction for Pochettino and his team – especially if they can bring in the likes of Martial as a result.
This is Futbol rating: 7.5/10
Likely to happen?
Some of these proposed moves? Absolutely. All of them? Probably not.
There is just too much work to do to get such big names out the door, with crucial discussions on both a transfer and a contract level meaning a lot of business could be finished late in the window.
Pochettino will not want to let them all go without replacements, and if their sales are what drives recruitment, then they have to get on with their work much quicker than they are right now.
This is Futbol rating: 4/10