Tottenham Hotspur’s quiet transfer window has meant that their squad is still mostly the same as the one that went so close to a maiden Premier League title last season.
This however, still means that the side are still lacking slightly in depth, especially up front, and news that versatile attacker Son Heung Min is attracting interest from German side Wolfsburg is not particularly convenient for Spurs.
Son; who incurred a few injuries last campaign after joining from Bayer Leverkusen for around £22 million, settled into the club reasonably well despite mostly appearing from the bench. Hard-working, but not without plenty of quality to go with it, Son represented an excellent deputy to the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela, making a few telling contributions across the season.
The news that Wolfsburg may be interested in a £17 million move for Son is not particularly handy for Spurs. At 24, Son still has plenty of opportunity to improve as a footballer, and his form for Bayer Leverkusen and in London in his limited opportunities have shown how good a player he could become. Not only would it leave Spurs short of a man up top, it would also deprive them of an excellent player for £5 million less than what they spent. It just doesn’t make sense to sell Son.
They may be even more inclined to hang onto Son if the move for Marseille winger Georges-Kevin N’Koudou continues to struggle to get over the line, after more complications at the French end of the deal.
Spurs; who initially agreed a deal for N’Koudou in mid-July had to renegotiate the transfer after a change in the hierarchy at the Provence club, and now more administrative changes are holding up the deal even further.
Marseille is the subject of a takeover bid from Luxembourg businessman Gerard Lopez, and the new prospective owner is keen to reinstate Marcelo Bielsa as manager of the club. Naturally, Bielsa is only likely to join the club with a decent squad underneath him, and there is now talk that the French club may hang onto N’Koudou long enough for Bielsa to assess whether he wants the 21-year-old in his squad.
This is another blow for Spurs, who clearly value N’Koudou very highly, and have already held out a long time for the transfer to be completed. They have been mucked around by Marseille for long enough, and must now consider whether he is worth the hassle of trying to deal with a club in such a mess as Marseille. If he is, this signing may still happen, but if not, N’Koudou will represent one of the longest failed transfer sagas of the summer.
However, a deal which may be close to completion is the sale of out of favour right back DeAndre Yedlin.
Yedlin, who joined Spurs in 2014 and spent last season on loan at Sunderland, has been the subject of £5 million bids from relegated sides Newcastle United and Aston Villa.
Newcastle are looking for a replacement for Daryl Janmaat, whereas Villa just need to improve their squad in order to launch a bid for a Premier League return. Yedlin, who impressed and greatly improved his defensive abilities at Sunderland last season, could be the kind of man to help push these sides towards promotion.
An attacking right back, he might be better suited to Newcastle, who are more likely to dominate possession in the Championship, giving him the freedom to express himself in attacking situations. A move down a division should give the defender plenty of time to hone his defensive skills ready for a return to the Premier League in the near future, but he has no chance of any game time at Tottenham.
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