Talking Tottenham on Sunday
Good morning folks and welcome to a wonderful Sunday (he says, writing this on Wednesday).
Every day is wonderful being a Spurs fan, it shows you can make some correct decisions in your life.
If you are new here, and many of you are, I very much look at things with a common sense eye, you won't get the anti-Levy kneejerk stupidity you'll find elsewhere, more a calculated look at our club.
When I see something I ask myself why, I look for reasons, I try to see how it fits into the big picture, into our stated long term aims and if it corresponds with that and how I can see that interpreted and put into practice, then I'll write through those eyes.
I have done the emotional trailing around to every game and I'm now more experienced, just as passionate in my own way but more understanding with it.
I have coaching qualifications and a winning mentality, which isn't the same as trying to win or doing your best to win, it's a different mental level.
Dele Alli tries to win, but he can't be arsed to train off the field so can't regularly produce his best on the field, he has lost the hunger to improve that is an essential ingredient of a winning mentality.
Tottenham Transfer Talk
Italy
Let's talk Ivan Perišić and give you the word from Italy on Friday and Saturday.
OK, he had previously reached an agreement with Chelsea but with the takeover not complete they can't sign anyone at the moment.
Inter had made him a 2-year offer (originally €2.86m + bonuses, then €4m + €700,000 bonuses), which they increased at the last minute, on the insistence of Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi, to €5m + €700,000 bonuses.
Converted to pounds that is £81,711 per week. They do not feel it is viable for them to go higher.
Paratici has offered him €6m + bonuses, which when converted to pounds is £98, 053 per week.
La Gazzetta dello Sport say that Inter set a deadline of Friday for him to agree and they didn't hear from him, nor could they get hold of his agent on the phone, who was simply not answering their calls.
Juventus have watched but not made an offer for Perišić.
The paper says that Inter have accepted he is joining Spurs and will now move on and give the role to his understudy Robin Gosens.
On Saturday, Inter received the confirmation that he had decided to re-join Antonio Conte at Spurs.
Inter, La Gazzetta dello Sport say, expect to agree a fee with Sours for Alessandro Bastoni and then sign Gleison Bremer from Torino, whom they already have an agreement with.
Bremer has a release clause in his contract allowing him to leave.
Thus Inter will make money on the two deals and reduce their wage bill.
We can expect these two deals to be tied up soon.
Inter President Steven Zhang, CEO of Sport Giuseppe "Beppe" Marotta, Sporting Director Piero Ausilio and Head Coach Simone Inzaghi all had a meeting to plan ahead.
Agreement was reached for Inzaghi to stay until 2024 with an extra year option and that Inter need to end the summer transfer market with a profit of £51m (€60m - US$64.39m - AUS$89.92m).
They therefore need to sell one player with a good transfer value, whom they can replace with a cheaper option that doesn't reduce the quality.
They had 4 options, Bastoni, Skriniar, Barella and Lautaro Martinez.
Bastoni is currently the sacrifice because of our interest and that they can replace him with Gleison Bremer and leave money in the coffers.
Let me give you some further information from Italy.
AC Milan are negotiating with Lille for centre-back Sven Botman, who has been linked with Spurs previously and they are also negotiating for midfielder Renato Sanches, who has also been linked with Spurs this window.
Milan are also considering 21-year-old (22 next March) Brugges forward Charles De Ketelaere. He has been followed by us also.
Milan have made an enquiry for the Belgian international and been quoted £34m (€40m - US$42.93m - AUS$59.95m).
The much maligned, usually ill informed incorrectly so, Eric Dier, who 'yer man' said Spurs should build their defence around and is captaincy material.
If you look through the spine of the Tottenham side now there are leaders, Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Harry Kane, the glue that holds us together.
Around that come the sticky bits, few of which appear to be captaincy material. A strong spine is imperative.
Really, Spurs spent more days top of the Premier League than Liverpool did, amazing what stats can tell you?
I live near the coast. I see the ships, the boats, the vessels in the harbour, the small fishing fleet so I know when a ship has sailed.
The Gareth Bale ship has sailed and in my view the Christian Eriksen ship has sailed.
While Bale offers ability and experience, Conte is building for the future, for next year (since his arrival) and beyond, that isn't Gareth Bale.
It is a press narrative again, he is not on Conte's wanted list.
I think Spurs fans are leading with their hearts rather than their heads when they talk of wanting Christian Eriksen back.
He isn't the Eriksen we had.
I'm sorry but his heart problems rule him out. Can he train at the intensity Spurs require?
I doubt it, we would be placing him at risk in my view and if he died while playing for us it would be terrible.
Personally I don't see what he has done for Brentford that says he must be bought, if his name was not Christian Eriksen.
It would have to be the most thorough medical we have ever undertaken if we were to sign him, fraught with danger, fraught with potential legal action from his family if something happened to him, that the medical hadn't been thorough enough.
Risk and reward.
There are plenty of risks but what are the rewards, rewards we could also get elsewhere without the potential problems.
A hard nosed way of looking at things but you have to be hard nosed running a football club.
The other thing of course is if you have this playmaker in our midfield, in our current system, then Harry Kane dropping into midfield to spray passes becomes more difficult.
You have to ask the question, would an out and out striker be a better option with Kane becoming a lethal second striker or bringing in a second striker with Kane up top?
All things to consider that most haven't.
One of my mantras has been our mentality in front of goal when we are winning and how it differs from Manchester City, the fact that they are clinical when they are winning 2-0, we aren't, we take it easy and coast.
Well I'm delighted to see that mentality changing.
You can not just turn on and off clinical finishing, you have to be mentally at the races for every chance to train your brain to take the opportunity when it comes that will decide a game.
it is a brain training method that stops you panicking or letting nerves and the occasion get the better of you.
Only Manchester City have scored 4 or more goals in more games than Tottenham under Antonio Conte, 9-5.
That shows a significant change from where we were.
You remember the likes of Adebayor dropping into midfield when we were 2-0 up and just passing the ball around between ourselves or the wrong decisions Lamela used to make when a goal looked certain.
Not something our journalists pick up on, not something they see as important, but Conte does, a coach does, these things matter.
Mentality matters.
Most goals scored in 2021/22
Manchester City 99
Liverpool 94
Chelsea 76
Tottenham Hotspur 69
Leicester City 62
Arsenal 61
West Ham United 60
Those incredible stats show if you score more goals you get more points!
I hope we continue on the upward curve and become even more clinical. We have a terrific front three but the back ups take us down a finishing level.
An area to address.
Titbits
You'll have noticed young striker Dane Scarlett has signed a new contract until 2026.
Steven Bergwijn has been nominated for the Castrol Game Changer of the Season award and must be a shoe-in.
Yves Bissouma
There is plenty of speculation that we are interested in Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma, who impressed plenty against us, although did look a tad greedy.
The 25-year-old (26 in August) is the subject of a sexual charge investigation and as far as I am aware we are not buying him.
Adrien Rabiot
Tottenham have been suggested as a possible destination for 27-year-old (28 next April) French international Adrien Rabiot.
Fabio Paratici took him to Juventus in 2019 and he is now available for around €20-€30m.
My issue with him is he is a money grabber and always demands a high sign on fee plus high wages.
I have the impression that he sees himself as an elite footballer and felt we weren't good enough for him previously. Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton are said to be interested.
Gabriel Jesus
Corriere dello Sport write that Juventus want 25-year-old (26 next April) Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City.
However they don't want to pay the 60m they have been quoted, given he could negotiate with them in January to join them on a free next summer.
The Italians say Arsenal have enquired but gone no further and that no Champions League means he won't go there.
We of course get a mention and it is suggested he is happy to take a wage cut.
Weston McKennie
It has gone quiet on Weston McKennie to Spurs with him being linked with a number of other clubs.
The news from Italy is that we are still interested and that we are prepared to pay close to £34m (€40m - US$42.83m - AUS$60m) to sign the 23-year-old (24 in August) American central midfielder.
Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte actually told Tottenham in April that he was definitely staying at the club so this media narrative is complete fabrication.
Paratici and Conte met in a hotel in Turin on Friday but the only discussion was transfer related. A few days ago Conte phoned Alessandro Bastoni personally in an effort to convince him to join Tottenham.
The club is doing all it can to push this signing through as quickly as possible.
Conte has also phoned Stefan De Vrig, Denzel Dumfries, Milan Škriniar, Marcelo Brozović, Nicolò Barella and Lautaro Martínez.
Nicolò Barella
Nicolò Barella is a 25-year-old (26 next February) central midfielder who has 36 Italian national team caps, scoring 7 goals, 6 assists.
However the Inter Milan man has a contract until 2026 so would not be a cheap option, were we to make a move for him.
COYS
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