OPINION
With OGC Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri reportedly close to signing for newly-promoted Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur have made a huge error.
As reported by trusted Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Seri is very close to signing for Spurs’ London rivals Fulham.
#Seri from @ogcnice to @FulhamFC: deal done ? @SkySport @SkySportsNews
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) July 10, 2018
A few weeks ago, as reported by The Sun, Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester United were all said to be interested in the Ivorian midfielder.
If the 26-year-old does indeed complete his reported move to Craven Cottage, Spurs should feel embarrassed that they’ve let such a talented player slip through their fingers.
Mauricio Pochettino needs another creative central midfielder in his squad for next season. As he looks to mount a title challenge in the upcoming campaign, the Argentinian will need players who can open up opposition that defend deep and to do that you need excellent passers in midfield who can find players in small gaps between defenders.
That’s what the midfielder pass-master could have provided. In 43 appearances for the French Ligue 1 side last season, he provided 10 assists and scored two goals, which prove his creative capabilities (TransferMarkt). He also proved his immense passing accuracy last season, achieving an average pass completion rate of 87.6% after attempting 3152 passes (WhoScored).
This is a player of Champions League quality, who could have given Spurs something different and made them a more creative team. Now though, with the player reportedly off to Fulham, they’ve lost that opportunity and will have to pay a lot more for a player of his type later on down the line. For Slaviša Jokanovic’s side, it’s a tremendous signing.
Daniel Levy can’t let many players like this slip through his fingers because if they genuinely want to challenge for the top honours over the next few seasons, they need to add to their squad with quality, which is what Seri would have provided.