Spurs Summer Transfer Window Day 53
It's a new month, it's a new dawn, it's a new day, oh no Iv'e done that one, the last month of the Spurs Summer Transfer Window where we will look to do further business before it closes.
The daftness of folk never ceases to amaze (why they can't all be brilliant like me I don't know) and the fools who were moaning about the signing of Clément Lenglet had their eyes firmly opened with his second half display against Roma.
Our left centre-back in waiting.
He and Ivan Perišić look quality additions to our ranks, give us more threat going forward and a greater goal scoring threat.
Perišić has already shown himself to be in a different league to Ryan Sessegnon and Sergio Reguilón and on the ball Clément Lenglet has shown himself to be in a different league to Ben Davies.
While many moaned, I hailed Lenglet's arrival, he is simply a quality player who had lost confidence, which was a result of mistakes being made by others that impacted his game and produced errors from him.
It's the same thing that happened to Eric Dier, he was never the problem, as I maintained throughout, it was those around him who were the problem.
New Challenges
On a visit to my grandson about a month ago, his mum and I took him to the little park, which he is only just big enough to use.
He climbed up the ladder to get into the treehouse with seats (not proper seats just places to sit) and a slide.
he would sit on the first lump and I'd say "seat one," he'd move onto the next one "seat two" and so on. There were 5 places to sit, he would then lie down and go down the slide forward.
"Wheeee", he's stand up, move to the end of the slide and jump off "big jump". Back to the ladder and through the whole process again and again.
Then he figures out, as all kids do, going up the ladder is a waste of time when I can just walk up the slide. Something he had not done before.
So he held on each side and walk probably 3 yards or metres up it, turn round sit down and come back down.
He then decides he can walk to the top so promptly does that, where I move round to the ladder and we go through the seat process again before sliding down the slide.
After a few attempts at this and confidence built, he decides he can walk the whole way up the slide with no hands, arms outstretched he promptly does so.
Why do I tell you this?
Well it's fun but it also shows you the childlike innocence of discovery and achievement.
Harry Kane looked at his game and decided he needed to improve his nutrition so hired a chef.
What did Dele Alli do, played on social media for likes to gratify his egotistical desires.
Their two careers have gone in different directions because one had the right mentality and one lost sight of the right mentality.
The right mentality can never be taken for granted, it still has to be fed, it still has to be maintained and that is hard because it is not the easy path to take.
Imagine two paths at a 45 degree angle to each other, one is the right path, one is the wrong path.
An individual walks down each, but when one realises he is on the wrong path, he can no longer just hop over to the right path, it is too far away.
He has to retrace his steps, back down the wrong path until he can reach the right path or build a new path from where he is across to the right path.
Dele has been unable to build that path, unable to find the right path. He has said all the right things but hasn't done them, it's too much effort for him, he's got money, he doesn't need to.
Troy Parrot was on the wrong path and has had to realise that, which he has and is now progressing in his fledgling career once again.
Spurs Summer Transfer Window Day 53
Tottenham have been doing background checks on 24-year-old (25 in October) Fiorentina centre-back Nikola Milenković.
The Serbian international (37 caps, 3 goals, 1 assist) is an experienced player, having played 154 Serie A and 17 Coppa Italia games since moving to the Serie A side from Partizan for €5.1 million on 27th May 2017.
Milenković has good ball playing qualities and a great physicality standing 1.95m (6ft 5in in proper money) tall.
There is nothing advanced yet but Fabio Paratici has a meeting arranged with the players agent, Fali Ramadani, for Tuesday 2nd August (tomorrow).
Fiorentina want to keep him but he only has a year left on his contract so they are in a vulnerable position.
It's reported by Italian newspaper La Nazione that La Viola have asked him to make a decision by Thursday 4th August to either sign a new contract or leave, reportedly for €15m.
Height: 6'5 / 195 cm
Position: CCB / RCB
Main Centre-Back Trait: Ball Playing
Contract Expires: June 30, 2023
Market Value: €15m
He wins 74.8% of his aerial duels and if bought would be out tallest centre-back, if signed covering both Dier and Romero, being right-footed.
Incidentally, we are building a tall team again, something we did before I seem to remember.
Milenković is an intelligent footballer. Sir Alex Ferguson used to seek players with football intelligence, he said it helped them adapt better to different football systems.
He has agility, composure, he reads the game well and being a ball-playing centre-back is an excellent passer of the ball.
Juventus, Inter Milan and LaLiga side Atlético Madrid are monitoring his situation, although Juventus have signed Gleison Bremer, Inter haven't sold a centre-back and Atlético Madrid President Enrique Cerezo recently declared that Los Rojiblancos would not be signing any more players this summer, ruling out a move for Emerson Royal to Spanish club.
These talks could prove to be very interesting as Fiorentina are very keen to sign Giovanni Lo Celso.
Spurs vs Southampton
To determine the side who will face Southampton on Saturday in our Premier League season opener, we should look to pre-season and see who has been given game time.
Tottenham have used 30 players in pre-season games and the graphic above shows those minutes which I'll rank in brackets below, Eric Dier for instance is (1st) and Charlie Sayers (30th).
Hugo Lloris obviously in goal having played 255 minutes (5th). Fraser Forster 42 minutes (23rd). Third choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin played 63 minutes (22nd).
Emerson Royal (160 mins 13th) or Matt Doherty (157 mins 14th) will play at right-back as Djed Spence hasn't been here long and has only had 19 minutes (28th) in pre-season.
I see people putting Spence the team but he won't be as fit as the other players yet and for me it would be a major shock if he started. He will have to bide his time.
Based on the fact that Emerson Royal started against Roma at right-back and played 67 minutes, I'd say he is pencilled in to start against Southampton.
Cristian Romero obviously starts at right centre-back, a spot he nailed down last season and he fitness isn't in doubt either having played 262 minutes (4th highest).
Eric Dier starts at centre centre-back having cemented that place last season and played the most minutes of anyone in pre-season 324 (1st), which is a clear 35 minutes more than anyone else.
Left centre-back is not so easy. Ben Davies performed extremely well last season but has been injured so his participation will revolve around his fitness after his recovery.
He travelled to Israel but didn't feature. With another week to the game I'd see him starting despite only having had 30 minutes (25th) of pre-season game time.
It is a risk.
The successor this season, as I'm sure he will become our #1 left-sided centre-back is Clément Lenglet, who impressed on the ball against Roma.
He wasn't able to get a visa in time for the South Korea trip but played 67 minutes (21st) in the heat of Israel.
He is new to the club and teammates so has that risk factor to consider. Davies knows the Premier League and our opponents, Lenglet doesn't so does he get eased in.
Does Davies play and last 70 or 75 minutes with Lenglet taking over and gaining some valuable experience?
The other option, because I saw him playing there for Columbia in a World Cup and he had minutes against Roma as left centre-back is Davinson Sánchez (238 minutes 7th).
Again he would be a risk there in an unfamiliar role in a Spurs three-man defensive system. Arguably he is the weakest distributor of the ball of the three candidates.
Japhet Tanganga 98 minutes (16th) looks to be leaving and Joe Rodon 23 minutes (27th) will be off to Rennes in France.
AC Milan will have more discussions with Spurs this week to try and find a solution to the option or obligation sticking point after a season long loan.
Roma also have had discussions with Spurs about taking Tanganga on loan as well.
Left-back or more accurately left wing-back will be the high quality of Ivan Perišić. With 105 minutes (15th) he played less than his understudy Ryan Sessegnon 165 minutes (12th).
In our midfield two it is inconceivable that Uruguayan international Rodrigo Bentancur doesn't start. he received 180 minutes (9th).
He will be joined, I believe, by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in a proven central midfield partnership that saw us achieve UEFA Champions League football, the minimum aim again this season.
Højbjerg played 289 minutes (2nd) only beaten bu Eric Dier. Our new signing Yves Bissouma, although no stranger to the Premier League is still a stranger to Spurs.
He played 90 minutes (joint 17th) and will start on the bench I'd think.
Oliver Sipp with a foot cut received in training will need recovery time and training time so will also have to wait. He has played 90 minutes in pre-season (joint 17th).
That leaves the front three who pick themselves, Heung-min Son 254 minutes (6th), Harry Kane 278 minutes (3rd) and Dejan Kulusevski 172 minutes (11th).
Richarlison 175 minutes (10th) received more minutes to help him adapt quickly to his new surroundings, he is going to be needed for rotation, as is Lucas Moura 189 minutes (8th).
Of the others, Bryan Gil (81 minutes 19th)doesn't fit into the UEFA Champions League squad if we sign another non-English Football Association trained player, as is likely. A loan spell looks likely.
Pape Matar Sarr (71 minutes 20th) has the same European issue as Bryan Gil so it seems likely he will go out on loan too.
Troy Parrott (31 minutes 24th) has already gone on loan to Preston North End, Malachi Fagan-Walcott (28 minutes 26th) is a developing player, as are Harvey White (14 minutes 29th) and Charlie Sayers (13 minutes 30th) who joined our academy last December from Southend United.
1,922 words.
COYS
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