Tottenham supporters will know that their summer spending isn’t yet done. Moves are still be linked with players to and from Spurs, although the fans should be delighted as one particular move looks to have gone cold.
According to Sky Sports back in June, the Lilywhites were looking into signing Marseille’s Japanese international right-back Hiroki Sakai, although nothing has since been reported on that potential move and it should stay that way.
The defender isn’t a bad player by any stretch, but he certainly does not fit the mould of a Mauricio Pochettino signing. Poch usually looks for young homegrown players from within the English system, yet with Sakai, we’ve got a 29-year-old Japanese defender who has never played in England.
It’s not impossible for Pochettino to be looking away from his usual criteria for a defender to replace the departed Kieran Trippier, but with Kyle Walker-Peters and Juan Foyth set to be called upon to step up it makes very little sense for the Marseille man to be brought in this summer.
The report claimed that Sakai was being looked at as an alternative should Spurs not be able to bring in their ideal replacement for either Serge Aurier or Trippier and that the Japanese defender could be a target later in the window.
Well, here we are in late July, with just 18 days until the window closes for Premier League sides and bringing in the Marseille man still looks like a bad move. Pochettino may decide to bite the bullet and sign the defender proving us wrong, but for now, whilst reports are scarce, it’s looking good.
Of course, it could all change and should Aurier leave the club too then anything can happen in North London, but bringing in someone younger and homegrown has to be a better option than opting to poach Sakai from Ligue 1 in the dying weeks of the window.