Tottenham need reinforcements in several positions during the summer
The 2019/20 campaign has been a difficult one for Tottenham. The team made a poor start to the season, which resulted in Mauricio Pochettino getting the sack in November. Jose Mourinho was brought in as the replacement and things seemed to be on the mend under the Portuguese early on.
But that proved only to be a false dawn. Tottenham’s form has dwindled over the past couple of months, resulting in exits from the FA Cup and the Champions League. We have also fallen behind in the race for a top four finish, currently sitting eighth in the Premier League.
Injuries to key players over the course of the season has exposed the lack of depth in our squad. And Mourinho needs to address that heading into the next season. To that end, here we look at three positions at Tottenham should strengthen in the summer:
Get a striker
The most obvious one. Tottenham allowed Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen to leave in the summer but did not bring in any sort of replacements, leaving Harry Kane as the only out-and-out centre-forward in our ranks.
And when the England captain picked up a serious hamstring injury in January, it left us without a striker to lead our line. Son Heung-min was expected to step into Kane’s shoes, but he also broke his arm. Steven Bergwijn was signed as a potential solution in January, but the Dutchman too got injured after a positive start to life in North London.
While both Son and Bergwijn can play through the middle when fit, it must be noted that neither is an out-and-out striker, which would once again leave Kane with the majority of the goalscoring burden. Which is why a cover for the England international needs to be our top priority heading into the summer.
Central defence
Defensive issues have plagued Tottenham throughout the season. Things were expected to get better under Mourinho, but that hasn’t been the case, with almost every member of our backline struggling to perform consistently.
The centre-back department hasn’t been up to scratch for most of the season. Apart from Toby Alderweireld, to some extent, none of the centre-halves have been able to show any sort of consistency. Jan Vertonghen, at 32, seems past his best while Davinson Sanchez has appeared too error-prone. Juan Foyth has been injured way too often.
Moreover, with Vertonghen’s contract expiring soon, there will be a vacancy created in the squad. And Tottenham should look to fill it with an experienced, top-class centre-back.
Right-back
The decision to allow Kieran Trippier to leave in the summer was met with approval among the fans. But looking at how he has performed for Atletico Madrid this season in comparison to how Serge Aurier has fared so far, it now feels like the club made the wrong call.
Indeed, Aurier has once again been consistently inconsistent over the course of the campaign. There have been positives every now and then, but the Ivorian makes too many errors that end up proving costly. Aurier, to put it plainly, is rash and ill-disciplined.
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Kyle Walker-Peters was deemed good enough for only 5 appearances before being loaned out to Southampton in January. Juan Foyth and Japhet Tanganga have also been used at right-back, but neither of them is a natural full-back and it shows. Hence, a new right-sided full-back should also be a top priority for Tottenham heading into the summer.
