Spurs Summer Transfer Window Day 34
Ok so what has happened, apart from George sending me a comment that started with abuse so deleted without reading. My pet George makes me laugh.
Well yesterday we just about crossed the line with the Djed Spence deal, which has a knock-on effect with further Spurs Summer Transfer Window business.
Some homegrown players we wanted and want out the door, such as Dele Alli, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Harry Winks.
Dele has the wrong mentality now so would only drag us down until he changed his mental outlook, he'll return to being a good player if he does as the ability is still there.
We shifted him in January.
Cameron Carter-Vickers wanted to reclaim his place in the USA squad ahead of the World Cup so wanted regular first-team football which he has found at Glasgow Celtic.
Harry Winks has been hanging on at Spurs for a few seasons, reluctant to move, hoping circumstances change ad a change of manager sees him back in faith.
Not to be, another manager deems him not good enough for where Spurs want to be, despite him being homegrown and serving a purpose there.
It seemed crazy to me, at a time when sides only play 1 or 2 Englishmen or homegrown players, that you waste a squad space for a non-homegrown player by having a reserve goalkeeper sitting on a bench all season.
That place simply had to go to a homegrown player to allow us a further 16 non-homegrown outfield players to select from.
A squad is 25 named players plus U-21 qualified players (homegrown or non-homegrown) of which only 17 can be non-homegrown.
If you have a keeper as a non-homegrown player then you are already down to 16 outfield spaces available.
These 16 are going to rotate and play more minutes combined than the 8 homegrown players you have in a squad.
If you have less than 8 then you can not name a 25-man squad, you have to name less.
You can not simply replace them with a non-homegrown player.
Therefore, you have to do a juggling act.
Which non-homegrown outfield players do you want, which ones are more important than others.
Where in your squad do you fit 8 homegrown players?
We'll leave out the issue of association-trained players like Ben Davies for Europe, although you have to keep that in mind when building a squad too.
My first thought is you have a homegrown goalkeeper sitting on the bench and now we have in Fraser Forster, a player I suggested we should be signing before we signed Joe Hart.
I think he is a better keeper than people give him credit for and I'm delighted with his signing, it's an important one in my book.
OK, then we have Harry Kane, Ryan Sessegnon is developing, Ben Davies, Matt Doherty, Oliver Skipp, Harvey White being developed, Brandon Austin (3rd goalkeeper) being developed.
That's 7 so who are under 21 qualified, one more needed over the age of 21.
The Supporting Cast
Joe Rodon, Japhet Tanganga, Troy Parrott and Harry Winks plus a couple of youngster being developed in the shape of Charlie Sayers and Malachi Fagan-Walcott.
So the choice is 4.
Joe Rodon, Japhet Tanganga, Troy Parrott and Harry Winks.
All four want regular first team football, important for Joe Rodon in World Cup year as he will be playing for Wales.
So to do what is best for Joe Rodon he will be loaned out.
That leaves three.
Harry Winks has been deemed surplus to requirements, which leaves two.
To develop Troy parrot he needs to be playing regularly so will be loaned out.
That leaves one.
Coming back from injury, Japhet Tanganga's future is in the balance.
He could have been needed as the last homegrown player. Having the full 8 matters for European football and association-trained and club-trained also important.
So, off the field, he is an important player. He needs to be developed to become an integral part of the squad or sold. Development would probably mean a loan spell though.
So what do you do?
Well, you look at your squad and ask yourself where you can squeeze a homegrown player in that isn't going to detract from the squads ability?
Players want to play, but with younger players there is the chance to develop them within the squad and us them in rotation.
You juggle this with the non-homegrown players you what in the squad and how much you are going to have to spend on them.
There is always money to consider, both transfer fees and wages.
The best option, Antonio Conte, Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici deemed was Djed Spence.
A young, cheap, low wage, in need of development homegrown and home-association trained player.
This is why we have been so determined to thrash out a deal and why Steve Gibson, the Middlesbrough chairman, has been trying to squeeze us for every last penny.
Imagine for a moment that we weren't signing Spence (that deal is basically over the line), what then?
Do you have to spend more on a homegrown player and in what position.
Could you pick up a free agent?
How does this affect who you want to buy?
For instance, if we signed Jessie Lingard then we wouldn't sign a non-homegrown midfielder or centre-back or wherever.
How much are you spending on wages, does that affect what you can pay others?
Securing that last homegrown spot frees us up to complete the remainder of our Summer Transfer Window business.
We know where we stand, from a playing point of view and financially.
This is why we have had a lull and fans start to become restless.
Then we have had the centre-back issue to deal with and Inter playing silly buggers.
To be fair to them, they have to look after themselves and until they can secure the players to replace any players they can sell, nobody would be allowed to leave.
yes we signed Ivan Perišić from them and been offered half their squad it seems, but he was a free agent they already had bought a replacement for in January.
I say a replacement, he was a player they were going to develop to replace him in time, that now just has to be speeded up.
We need a permanent solution to the centre-back issue but have had to look at potential short-term solution to delay the matter until next summer possibly.
Gleison Bremer would be a solution but his partner won't leave Italy and RB Leipzig will not let Joško Gvardiol leave this summer.
Bremer therefore wants to go to Inter, Inter want to sign him, Torino have accepted they can't get more from Premier League clubs for him as he won't move there so now are looking to agree a deal with Inter.
That may finally release Alessandro Bastoni, who Antonio Conte wants to sign.
You can see now why we have had to let the situation play out, knowing Bremer's wishes as we do and not pursue other targets.
However Bremer could replace either of Inters other two centre-backs so left-footed Bastoni may still not be available and the temporary loan signing of left-footed Clément Lenglet suggests that.
However, if Bastoni did become available I'm sure Antonio Conte would snap him up anyway.
So there you have it, the continual conundrum of the homegrown issue.
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