Tottenham’s latest defeat in the Champions League came at the hands of Monaco. However, the 2-1 loss on French soil was much more devastating than some of the earlier defeats largely because it has put Tottenham out of the competition even with one game left. Spurs came into the game with their Champions League hopes hanging by the thread. Two losses in the home games against Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen always made it tough for the club to think about progress to the knockout stages.
However, few would have expected after the disappointing performance from the team as they allowed Monaco to move into the knockout stages with ease.
Spurs’ form in recent weeks has been subjected to much debate. One of the big criticisms of the club has been their inability to make the marquee signing in the summer. Spurs brought in several names like Vincent Janssen, Mousa Sissoko, and Victor Wanyama. Admittedly, they spent just over £50 million, which is not a significant sum of money in this day and age, but Spurs fans were hoping for some big names after having just achieved qualification to the Champions League.
The fact that Spurs were also in the title race for a long time could have been used as a pulling factor to attract big names. Yet, Spurs decided to continue with their transfer policy of going after value for money options. It would be tough to blame chairman Daniel Levy considering that the mega investment in the new stadium certainly hampers the club’s ability to spend big in the transfer market even with the new-found riches from the Premier League TV deal.
The latest to call for Spurs to make significant inroads into strengthening the squad in January is Clive Allen. He has recalled that only Victor Wanyama is the summer signing to have established himself in the first team. Hence, it is effectively the team that managed to come third in the league last season, but they now had to contend with Champions League football as well. As cited by Standard Sport, he said:
“They maybe need an experienced older head who has been there and done it as well.
“Just for the younger players to look to in times like this when they need someone who can encourage them.
“There has to be a couple of important signings in January,” said Allen.
Unsurprisingly, Mauricio Pochettino also admitted that the team needed strengthening in some areas if they were going to compete in two competitions at the same time.
The clubs that regularly qualify for the Champions League have an immense depth of the squad which allows them to rotate quite easily. The intense style of football, long list of injuries, and the lack of a big squad have all been factors that led to Spurs’ early exit from the Champions League.
The club will now focus on the upcoming league match against Chelsea on Saturday. However, an even bigger priority would be to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages at the very least.
