OPINION
Tottenham’s decision not to bring a single new body in to help bolster their side over the summer window has been dissected and criticised since the window shut – but it appears as though Mauricio Pochettino was plotting until the last minute.
With no new arrivals, as well as no notable first team exits, the Argentine boss is working with pretty much the same squad he was last season, meaning that his centre forward options remain Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente, with Vicent Janssen out for a while after undergoing foot surgery.
A new attacker certainly seemed among the manager’s priorities and Goal.com are reporting that Spurs saw a deadline day bid worth £25million rejected from London and Premier League rivals Chelsea for young hitman Tammy Abraham.
Now the 20-year-old is hardly a proven talent in the top flight, having struggled to hit the ground running while on loan at Swansea last season, but his potential makes him an exciting prospect – and the last ditch gamble on his signing could well have been a masterstroke from Pochettino.
Tall, fast, and with a goalscoring pedigree in the Championship and in England’s youth sides – with his nationality likely to have been a key factor in Tottenham’s interest – his ability to work both as a centre forward and a winger would have meant he could have seen plenty of game time from the bench, or even the starting XI, joining a host of English talents in north London.
A move for Abraham makes perfect sense for Spurs and another move must be launched in January – especially if he finds himself low down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge for the first half of the season.
It would have been a swoop which had the Spurs faithful excited, and the board at the club must not leave this as a case of what might have been.