Spurs Transfer News
Hello once again folks, THBN is back with some Spurs Transfer News, I'm back while I continue amending my Tottenham 10-year Project post.
The above graphic is from Transfermarkt) a wealth of information.
I also have a Spurs Bigger Picture post partly written. Couple those two posts together with the mentality project using psychologists to develop players' mentality as a regular part of training and you have an off-the-field vision to grow the club worldwide and fund an on-the-field trophy-laden future.
Keep returning and those thought-provoking Tottenham Hotspur Blog News (THBN) visionary posts will be with you soon.
Fabio Paratici is definitely looking to conduct some business in January after Spurs' successful start to the season pre-World Cup.
Conte's plan, a plan I exclusively revealed to you after getting word from Italy, was to conserve his player's energy and play in patches to get through a very heavy schedule, Spurs finished it playing 13 games in 43 days.
Players are not robots, the fans, pundits and media all forgot this, they all forgot the fatigue factor, they all forgot a body takes 48 hours to fully recover from a game but were consistently only given 4 hours to recover with the resulting build-up of fatigue.
The aim to be in the Top 4 and the next round of the UEFA Champions League was achieved.
Fans should be behind the club, proper supporters are.
Paratici will work in his normal way, lining up many potential deals for one position and then acting.
As such, it is always a fun time for Spurs fans and I guess, a boon for anyone talking about Spurs Transfer News.
Conte Out
Antonio Conte's first 38 games in charge of Tottenham Hotspur have yielded him his highest points tally of any club he's managed in his career to date.And some clueless fans want him out!
If I offered you, at the start of the season, Spurs being above Liverpool and Chelsea going into this break, you would have bitten my hands off.
Well, Spurs are.
I had a chat with a chap on Twitter with logic as part of his handle, yet he couldn't handle logic.
He even said football is not about winning, now there is a losing mentality!
So, if football is not about winning, how can the same individual complain that we haven't won anything since 2008!
The kids on social media do make you laugh.
They must also have a scapegoat.
Their historical scapegoats and Dier and Davies, both who have proven them wrong, albeit Dier has made a couple of mistakes that can easily be put down to fatigue, given he has played virtually every minute.
The current is Emerson Royal, who isn't as bad as people make out but I grant you is also not of the level we need in that role.
It serves no purpose, but to help the opposition, if you are slagging Emerson off permanently and then continue to do so within the ground, all while claiming to support.
All you are doing is making him play worse and trying to get Spurs to drop points as a result of your lack of support.
There is a time and a place, but at a corner, near a microphone, to slag off one of your own is an utter disgrace.
Antonio Conte
Commenting on the Serie A weekend on TMW Radio , during Maracana , was the former football player and agent Massimo Brambati and he was asked about the Tottenham manager, Antonio Conte.
What do you think of Antonio Conte's moment?
"The focus is not the contract but the projects. So much so that Tottenham has asked for an extension, but he wants to understand if he has to stay to be in the top four doing miracles or have a team that can win the Premier. His stay will depend a lot on this."
UEFA World Cup
The players that didn’t make the World Cup squads for their country that Conte now gets to work with over the break at Hotspur Way:
- Dejan Kulusevski
- Clément Lenglet
- Ryan Sessegnon
- Oliver Skipp
- Djed Spence
- Japhet Tanganga
- Davinson Sanchez
- Matt Doherty
- Emerson Royal
- Lucas Moura
- Bryan Gil
- Fraser Forster
- Brandon Austin
- Yves Bissouma
Perhaps 4, maybe 5 of them could feature in our first game after the World Cup in Qatar, depending upon when sides go out and what rest our players then get to recover from their exertions in the Middle Eastern heat.
Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers said to the assembled press that they create narratives and so in stories, which basically means they make stuff up.
Unfortunately, too many gullible fans believe everything they read in the press incorrectly believing reporters get their stories from contacts at clubs.
Thus they receive a standing they don't deserve. Every club has them, including Spurs.
“This is a game where people will create a narrative and spin stories around a certain player.“
It is the same with a view surrounding a club.
Reporters have a job to do and that job is not in the best interests of Spurs but of advertisers for their employers.
The more controversy and unrest they can cause the better for their advertisers viewing figures, which pay their wages.
The Internet lives on advertising revenue.
Personally, I'll keep providing the common sense assessment of Tottenham matters and Spurs Transfer News from an experienced head point of view while keeping in mind the bigger picture of Tottenham's growth at all times.
Throw context out the window and you throw reason out the window, hence why you get so many people with ridiculous viewpoints that actually would work against what the club is trying to achieve.
Spurs Transfer News
Covered in Spurs Transfer News today are:
- Coach - Yaya Touré
- Right-back - Joe Scally
- Right-back - Benjamin Pavard
- Right-back - Denzel Dumfries
- Centre-back - Davinson Sánchez
- Centre-back - Stefan de Vrij
- Centre-back - Milan Škriniar
- Defensive midfield - Manuel Ugarte
- Central midfield - Weston McKennie
- Central midfield - Franck Kessié
- Attacking midfielder - Alfie Devine
- Left-wing - Cody Gakpo
- Left-wing - Yannick Carrasco
- Striker - Marcus Thuram
- Striker - Youssoufa Moukoko
Elsewhere you'll see these as 15 different posts to garner advertising revenue, while at Tottenham Hotspur Blog News (THBN) you get a clearer and more overall picture.
So let's get stuck into some pre-winter transfer window Spurs Transfer News.
Yaya Touré
Spurs youth coach Yaya Touré, the former Manchester City title winner has been approached by Wigan Athletic about becoming their next manager.
Whilst he does hold long-term management ambitions, Touré feels it is too early for him just at the beginning of his coaching career and has decided to remain at Tottenham Hotspur.
Joe Scally
Tottenham Hotspur and fellow Premier League giants Manchester United have been watching Borussia Monchengladbach and USA right-back Joe Scally.Scally is not the only Borussia Monchengladbach player Fabio Paratici is following.
Spurs sent a scout to watch Borussia Monchengladbach play Borussia Dortmund last week.
Apart from Sally, they were there to scout strikers Marcus Thuram and Youssoufa Moukoko too, more on those later in Spurs Transfer News.
Benjamin Pavard
Bayern Munich are not happy with 26-year-old (27 next March) right-back Benjamin Pavard.
The French international has a contract in Germany until 2024 but has said he'd like to play in another country.
Bayern Munich has not started contract talks with him yet.
Denzel Dumfries
Another right wing-back Spurs have been following is 26-year-old (27 next April) Denzel Dumfries, currently at Inter Milan.
Inter still have money woes, they aren't going away any time soon and have reportedly reduced their asking price for the talented Netherlands international, who regularly impresses when I see him, to €30m (£26.18m).
Davinson Sánchez
Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici are looking to offload Davinson Sánchez in January with Italian side Inter Milan showing interest.
These reports emanate from Italy where they suggest Paratici is looking at a deal involving 30-year-old (31 next February) Netherlands international centre-back Stefan de Vrij.
Conte is reported to have spoken directly to de Vrij about a January move. His contract rune out in the summer and Inter seem reluctant to offer him a contract extension.
The Italian press suggests he might be available for between €4m-5m (£3.49m-4.36m).
Other reports suggest Fabio Paratici is preparing a move for Milan Škriniar, while we know Conte wants Alessandro Bastoni, both also at Inter Milan.
So all three centre-backs linked just demonstrates none of them actually know and they are all guessing.
I can tell you Inter wants to discuss a new contract with Milan Škriniar.
Manuel Ugarte
Manuel Ugarte is a 21-year-old (22 next April) Uruguayan international (10 squad selections, 6 caps) defensive midfielder playing for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Sporting CP.
The Uruguayan is being tracked by French giants PSG and is in the South Americans' squad for the World Cup.
He possesses excellent ball control and long-range passing, sits 3rd in the league for tackles (39) and 4th (81.8%) for successful dribbles, plus being 4th (91.7%) for pass completion.
Sporting wants to keep him, will be offering him a new contract and reportedly wish to raise his release clause from €50m (£43.51m) to €70m (£60.91m).
Ugarte reads the game well and uses his body to protect the ball and I think would be a good addition to our midfield to compete with Bissouma for a place at the base of a midfield three.
Weston McKennie
Tottenham are once again pushing to sign American international Weston McKennie from Juventus.
McKennie is said to be keen on a move to Spurs.
The midfield needs bolstering. I know it is not a popular opinion, but I think Spurs need a Højbjerg-type player with better passing skills with Højbjerg as a player to rotate in.
The Tottenham Hotspur Blog News (THBN) view is that Oliver Skipp has a long way to go before he is of the quality we need in the big games.
Franck Kessié
Tottenham had an agreement in place to sign Franck Kessié when his contract ran out at AC Milan.
Paratici didn't pull the trigger and he joined Barcelona instead, however, that has not gone as planned and the 25-year-old (26 in December) has not won over Xavi.
Barcelona are considering trying to move him on after only a few short months and Tottenham will explore the possibility of a deal with the Catalans.
Kessié wants to return to AC Milan.
Aston Villa and Fulham are strongly interested with figures between £14m and £22m being suggested. A decent return after a few months on a free transfer.
Alfie Devine
Young Tottenham development midfielder Alfie Devine is exploring the possibilities and having talks to agree a January loan move for the second half of the season.
The 18-year-old (19 next August) is interesting Championship side Sheffield United and various clubs after Spurs dropped out of the UEFA Youth League at the group stages.
Spurs finished 3rd in Group D behind Sporting CP and Eintracht Frankfurt. At the same stage Napoli, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Sevilla and Benfica also left the competition.
Cody Gakpo
Tottenham have also been keeping tabs on 23-year-old (24 next May) PSV Eindhoven attacking left winger Cody Gakpo.
Gakpo has scored or assisted in 50% of PSV Eindhoven's goals in the Dutch Eredivisie this season.
The Netherlands international (9 caps, 3 goals, 2 assists, 3 times unused substitute) has scored 9 goals and had 12 assists in his 14 Eredivisie games and only had a contract extension until 2026 in January of this year.
Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham United have also been following the wide attacker who was rather disappointed in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers against Monaco and Rangers but has turned his form around back in the league.
He was also poor in the away leg of the Europa League tie against Arsenal raising questions about his ability against bigger teams that domestic competition can not really answer.
Despite performances against Ajax and Feyenoord domestically, you have to question how effective Gakpo w be in the Premier League so with that concern the price PSV might want would be too high in my opinion.
Yannick Carrasco
Tottenham are once again linked with a move for 29-year-old (30 next September) Atlético Madrid and Belgium international left winger or wing-back Yannick Carrasco.
Newcastle United tried to sign him last January, making him a lucrative offer, but he decided to stay in LaLiga.
That sparked talk of a new contract offer but nothing has progressed on that score as his importance to the team has declined.
Paratici tried to sign him last summer and there is talk in Spain that he will try again in January. but nothing really more concrete than that yet.
Given Spurs already have Destiny Udogie (on loan at Udinese, Italy) joining the ranks in the summer, Ryan Sessegnon (important for homegrown and English-association trained) and Ivan Perišić, a move for Carrasco in January looks unlikely in my book.
You could make an argument if you saw him solely as a left winger, but Conte wants a player who can play across three positions and I'm not sure he fits that bill.
He could be used as a right ing-back though and he'll only have a year left on his deal in the summer.
Marcus Thuram
Marcus Thuram is a free agent in the summer and is being scouted by Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Borussia Monchengladbach have set a €10m (£8.73m) price tag on the 25-year-old (26 next August) French international (4 caps, 1 assist, 6 times in squad) centre-forward in January.
With 10 goals and 3 assists in 15 games, Thuram has featured directly in 46% of Borussia Monchengladbach's Bundesliga goals this season.
He has also scored 3 goals and 1 assist in 2 DFB Pokal games. It is the German Cup, DFB is the German Football Association and the current holders are RB Leipzig.
Thuram is a big strong player with good link-up play and clearly knows where the net is so fits the Conte profile.
Another positive from the club's point of view is that he is cheap because his contract runs out in July and if he didn't work out at Tottenham (not all players adapt to the Premier League, which is why we have to be careful over signings) he could still be sold at a profit.
If he is good enough in Conte's eyes, he would seem to be a very good option with that profit insurance clause built in.
Youssoufa Moukoko
Youssoufa Moukoko is a German international (1 cap) who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
The 17-year-old (18 on 22 Nov) centre-forward has been prolific at younger age levels and even at his tender age has featured in 40% of Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga goals this season (14 starts, 6 goals, 4 assists).
Moukoto is attracting interest from Liverpool and Manchester United having played only 767 Bundesliga minutes, which is equivalent to just 8.5 full games.
You can understand why there is interest and after Erling Harland, why the need to snap him up quickly before his price absolutely skyrockets.
A goal every 18 minutes for a 17-year-old in a top-tier league and a big club in a top-tier league no less, is exceptional as is a goal or assist every 76.7 minutes.
Moukoto is the youngest player at the World Cup in Qatar with Ronaldo being the oldest striker in what will be his 5th World Cup, a feat only achieved by Lionel Messi (Ronaldo has one more goal than Messi).
Spurs potential target Scally, mentioned earlier in Spurs Transfer News, is another of the 18 teenagers at the world's biggest tournament.
“Just to be at a World Cup now, a goal that players dream of their whole career, makes me incredibly proud,” Moukoko wrote on his Instagram account shortly after being called up for the tournament by Hansi Flick.
He was called up for the World Cup having not played a game for Germany (born in Cameroon) but was subsequently given a cap against Oman to become the youngest German player since Uwe Seeler in 1954.
If he makes even a substitute appearance that will tie him to Germany internationally, instead of his native Cameroon.
Where you work, in my view, shouldn't make any difference to your nationality.
Well there you have it, plenty of Spurs Transfer News to get stuck into there with a better view of the overall activity ahead of the latest Spurs winter transfer window.
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FURTHER READING
Winter Tottenham Transfer Talk - 846 words
A brief look at Spurs Transfer News
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Our style of play was revealed by Cristian Stellini in his post-Marseille press conference as exclusively revealed by THBN previously.
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