Leicester City may have won the hearts of the entire football spectrum last season with an unprecedented title triumph, but there were spells last season wherein Mauricio Pochettino’s young Tottenham Hotspur side were the best in the division.
Equipped with remarkable talent, the bedrock of the North Londoners was established by a host of English players, namely Eric Dier, Deli Alli, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker and Harry Kane. All five of them went on to represent their country in the European championships, albeit in vain. Nevertheless, their performances steered Tottenham to a third-place finish and automatic qualification for this season’s Champions League proper.
The likes of Toby Alderweireld, Hugo Lloris and Erik Lamela shone too and were instrumental in some of Tottenham’s finest results last season. Their league double against Manchester City, the obliteration of Manchester United and West Ham United at White Hart Lane and impressive wins away to Southampton and Stoke City were hailed by their fans and pundits alike. They were the closest to challenging Leicester City in the league following Arsenal and Manchester City’s mid-season capitulations and suffered one of their own in the final stretch of the 38 game long marathon.
If they are indeed ambitious enough to challenge for gold again, they will be required to hold their nerve in situations loaded with pressure while producing top performances. Pochettino felt it was necessary to recruit a mixture of experience and potential in the squad to spearhead that and so managed to lure Victor Wanyama from Southampton and young Dutch sensation Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar.
However, the Argentinian coach has recently reiterated that he wants to sign three more players before the transfer window shuts. Keeping that in mind, we take a look at some of the targets they could sign on or before deadline day.
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Pau Lopez (Espanyol)
The 21-year-old Spanish goalkeeper has been identified by Pochettino as one for the future as he continues to assess his options in that department with Hugo Lloris out for four weeks with a hamstring problem. Reports suggest Espanyol are only willing to send the youngster out on loan, although Tottenham are understood to have spoken about a permanent move for him. Lopez joined the Spanish side at the age of 12 and has one U21 cap for Spain.
What’s more is that Pochettino worked with the goalkeeper when he was the Espanyol manager and rated him highly during that spell and if that isn’t enough, the arrival of Roberto Jimenez from Olympiacos may prove to be the final straw for Lopez.
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Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev)
The Ukrainian winger has been outstanding for Dynamo Kiev, scoring 59 goals in his last three seasons, 19 of which were netted in the previous campaign. His trickery and ability to pick a pass have been well documented and reports claim Tottenham are lining up a move to sign the 26-year-old.
Yarmolenko helped Kiev reach the Round of 16 in the Champions League last season and while he hasn’t expressed his desire to seek new pastures, the Ukrainian champions have declared an asking price of £18m, should a formal bid materialise.
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Oliver Burke (Nottingham Forest)
The Championship has seldom been the mainstay for young, talented footballers and in what appears to be yet another case of a teenager attracting interest from the division right above him, Scotsman Oliver Burke is reportedly on Tottenham’s radar now, amidst interest from Liverpool, Sunderland and Arsenal.
Having risen through the ranks of Nottingham’s academy, Burke has been indispensable for the Championship club recently. Predominantly a right winger, he has been compared to Gareth Bale in his early days and could be a valuable addition to Pochettino’s young and energetic side. Forest are believed to have turned down offers for the 19-year-old though and are doing everything in their capacity to keep him at the club.
