OPINION
Tottenham fans will no doubt be ruing their side’s barren transfer window over the summer and pointing to it as a reason for their recent poor form, but Mauricio Pochettino has just rubbed salt into the wounds by making a huge transfer revelation.
The Lilywhites have been forced to make do with the same squad they had during the last campaign after failing to bring in a single new recruit in the off season, while a number of players touted with exits remained in north London.
With Harry Kane coming under fire for his recent performances up top, Pochettino has only really got Fernando Llorente – a man who failed to impress for Spurs last season – to call upon, while Heung-min Son could also do a job in the centre forward’s role.
However, things could have been so very different if the Argentine manager had got his way, and whoever failed to see his wishes through caused Spurs to make a huge summer blunder.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia, as quoted by Football365, Pochettino confirmed he wanted to sign Keita Balde before seeing him move from Monaco on loan to Inter Milan: “Yes, it’s true (I wanted him).
“I’ve been following him since he grew up in Barcelona while I was at Espanyol. He is a player with an interesting profile for us, I wanted him but then he chose Monaco. But he remains an excellent striker.”
A natural centre forward with an ability to play out on the wings is exactly what Tottenham needed this summer and in Balde they could have ticked all their boxes and more.
Instead they have to settle with Kane, in or out of form, or fill his spot with someone like Llorente, who has not shown any reason to be in the starting XI.
Quite frankly, missing out on Balde was a massive error on Tottenham’s behalf and while it is all speculation, the Tottenham fans will probably be feeling that they would not be suffering quite as badly as they are if they had made such an exciting capture.