Tottenham have been brilliant in the last two seasons and are currently 4 points behind Chelsea in the Premier League table. Tottenham have arguably been the most consistent team in England this season and it can be seen from the league standings, despite Spurs being 2nd in the table.w
A rampant Tottenham beat Arsenal last weekend and that assured Spurs of their finish above Arsenal for the first time since 1995. It looks like times have finally changed and the power has shifted away from the Red team of North London.
Irrespective of whether Tottenham manages to catch Chelsea and win the league or not, Pochettino should improve his squad for next season. According to the Evening Standard, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino wants the club hierarchy to sign players with Premier League experience as they would be the ones who would hit the ground running from game one.
The report from Standard says that;
“Pochettino believes the best way to strengthen his squad is by bringing in men who can hit the ground running in English football, rather than players from other leagues who need time to adjust.”
“Ross Barkley, the Everton attacking midfielder, remains a prominent target, while centre-backs Michael Keane, of Burnley, and Harry Maguire, of Hull, are believed to have impressed Spurs scouts”
It looks like Pochettino has identified this as the club’s transfer strategy for the upcoming transfer window as recruits from foreign leagues have failed to settle at the club. Vincent Janssen and Kevin N’Koudou arrived last summer from Dutch Eredivisie and French Ligue1 respectively and have failed miserably. On the other hand, Victor Wanyama, who was signed from Southampton has found it relatively easy to perform for Tottenham. Moussa Sissoko remains an exception and it would be safe to say that players can have a bad season in their careers.
However, Pochettino seems to have learned his lesson and has now said that he wants players with Premier League experience in his squad, as he looks to once again go for the league title next season.
A lot of Premier League players have been linked with Tottenham previously but none of that seems to be fructifying so far. Wilfried Zaha was a subject of much speculation until the Telegraph revealed that Tottenham have cooled their interest in the striker.
With Zaha not being a target anymore, Tottenham would do well by switching their attention towards Everton’s Ross Barkley, who has scored 5 goals and 9 assists this season. He would be a good addition to the Spurs squad and his presence will certainly help Tottenham deal with the number of fixtures that they would be playing next season.
The other clever options for Tottenham would be Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson, Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi, and Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez. These players are all completely gettable and would turn out to be a clever piece of business if Pochettino manages to sign either of them.
