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Spurs January Transfers Identified

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January promises to be an interesting period down at the Lane, if only for the fact that perhaps for the first time in several open periods it looks likely that more will be leaving rather than joining the club this time around. At least that is the hope as the current form and league position of the side are testament to the development policy beginning to take root and now is the time for a period of consolidation, filling in one or two minor gaps, trimming the branches that haven?t quite bloomed and maintaining harmony throughout the squad without compromising the side with unnecessary rotation.

So where specifically should the activity focus? Starting from the back I see no issues in the goalkeeping positions, Paul Robinson remains an excellent acquisition at £1.5 million and looks set to dominate the England No.1. shirt for some time to come. In Radek Cerny and those behind him we have good cover here too.

Along the back four Jol seems to have settled for a first choice of Pyo, Stalteri, King and Dawson. The selection consistency along the back line is beginning to pay dividends and the four are beginning to look like a unit that will only improve with time as the players mature particularly in the central positions. Full back cover is amply provided by Stephen Kelly and Noe Pamarot, both very capable yet I suspect the challenge here may be keeping the two at the club, in particular the young ambitious Kelly who is clearly capable of playing in the premiership. Perhaps the club would be well advised to do a deal to put Kelly out on loan some where he can be recalled quickly should the need arise. A likelier candidate for movement out of the club is Goran Bunjevcevic, a loyal utility player of average quality who surely must recognise the club has moved significantly from where it was when he was originally signed by Glenn Hoddle and at 24 years old now really needs to be playing first team football somewhere. In the central defensive positions Anthony Gardner is now back to fitness and we still have youngsters Davenport and Huddlestone on the books currently out on loan. My personal sense is that there is great hope for Huddlestone yet I also sense that Davenport hasn?t quite proved to be the player we thought he might be, don?t be surprised to see him seal a permanent move out come January.

So onto Midfield, the area perhaps most congested with current squad members yet I still feel we are short of a decent left sided player to balance the excellent options we have on the right. For me Andy Reid has failed to look like the answer at this level, in fact I personally preferred the promising Ziegler and look forward to welcoming him back from the Bundesliga next season, hopefully having benefited from a season of playing first team football in one of Europe?s top leagues. Tainio is performing very well in this position currently and is worth persisting with though I feel this may be the one area of midfield that Jol looks to bring in a more natural wide player. The central midfield positions are well covered with great options in Davids, Carrick & Jenas. This leaves one from Brown, Mendes and Davis as being required as a fourth choice option should two of the first choice three be injured, my money would be on this being Brown. Despite interest from many Championship clubs, Brown remains the only one of the three who seems happy to bide his time on the sidelines with Davis and Mendes, apparently Fulham and Celtic bound respectively. On the right hand side the options of Lennon and Routledge mean their will be no new acquisitions on this side of the midfield, Lennon has outperformed expectations and now with Routledge returning to fitness it will be interesting to see who wins the battle to be first choice in Jol?s mind. Clearly Lennon has the advantage in supporter?s eyes as his spirited performances with flashes of skill have warmed the supporters to the shy Yorkshire lad.

The forward positions are interesting ones, not least as they tend in any club to be the ones filled by the most egotistical and hence emotionally unstable players in the premiership. Being a forward in good form is a confidence thing, perhaps more so than any other position, the slightest sniff of a transfer rumour is enough to have the manager?s door beaten down by a rush of angry front men. So it is in those positions that Jol needs to act with most care because we do need to make a signing in the forward positions and at the same time we need to retain a fair proportion of those still on the books. I honestly believe we are just one target man style prolific goal scorer away from having a squad that can be as good as anyone in the premiership, bar Roman?s fantasy football experiment side round the corner. So with one forward coming in, who will it be? In my view we should break the bank to get Dirk Kuyt from Feyenoord a proven goal scorer both for club and now country. The signs are good despite a summer attempt having failed, the striker having been recently quoted as saying ?During the last training camp with Holland I had long talks with Edgar,’ ‘He said that Spurs are a fantastic club. If Edgar says it, I believe it. He has made me very curious and eager to join them? ?They really tried hard to get the transfer done [in the summer]. But it was all at the last minute and Feyenoord had no chance to sign a replacement. I’ll just wait and see what happens now.’ If Kuyt does come in January, he won?t be cheap; previous talk of a £12 million price tag may be a little high but little change from £10 million should be expected. Signing such a player for that kind of money may not sit well with the current policy at the club but if we are to now move onto the next level. Current policy having delivered to date now needs to be refocused with less emphasis for now on wholesale change and youthful acquisition (though this will always be important) and more on buying proven world class talent.

So with Kuyt in who will go the other way, well??.this is a view that won?t be shared by all but sadly I feel Robbie Keane?s time at the club is coming to an end despite a recent improvement in form. I don?t say that lightly, I have a huge soft spot for the Irishman and will forever remember that hat-trick against Everton a couple of years ago that lit up the day and almost single-handedly sealed a 3-2 win for us at the Lane. It?s well proven that you cannot play both Keane and Defoe in the same side and for me only one player wins when looking at the two in terms of who is the best goal scorer and all round player. Sadly the club, like many of Keane?s other clubs (e.g. Leeds, though I bet they wish they had him now!), has now outgrown him. But what about cover for Defoe I hear you say? Well in my opinion Keane will not be happy with a bit part, but equally we should not always assume that we have to play with one big and one small forward, a pairing of Kuyt and Mido in Defoe?s absence would provide plenty of goals surely? Mido has impressed me with some aspects of his play, I like the big target man style he offers though I still feel he doesn?t win enough headers, he has proven he can score goals too at this level but my biggest concern is his general level of fitness. Is it just me or does he fade from every game around the 60 minute mark? Despite this I would still make Mido a permanent signing in January, ignoring his impending time away from the club at the African nations tournament which again needs careful handling by the club (see also: one Frederic Kanoute). I believe Mido offers a great option from the bench and will provide great cover to either Defoe or Kuyt who I would expect to become the first choice pairing. During the last window we secured the signing of Grzegorz Rasiak from Derby County at the eleventh hour, if it was down to me I would make this one of the shortest periods of tenancy in the clubs history as the limited performances to date against Liverpool and Villa did enough to demonstrate that Rasiak seems to be well short of the ability to compete at this level, that said perhaps I am being a little harsh as there seems to be a stack of clubs lining up to take him on board albeit they are all championship clubs!


Editors Transfer Choices:

Out: Noe Pamarot, Pedro Mendes, Robbie Keane, Goran Bunjevcevic, Callum Davenport, Sean Davis, Andy Reid, Grzegorz Rasiak

In: Dirk Kuyt

Who would your choices be? Let me know in the forum.


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