With a defeat at the hands of Galatasaray in their midweek UEFA Europa League fixture, Spurs’ stop-and-go momentum prevails as we enter the second quarter of the season which will feature the infamous festive period schedule of the English footballing calendar.
Despite their several stumbles, Spurs are in the quarters of the League Cup, just two points off the top four in the Premier League, and strong contenders for the Europa League, with their FA Cup campaign to commence in January. With everything left to play for, Spurs need to manoeuvre the coming months meticulously to make this a special term under head coach, Ange Postecoglou.
Here, we present to you three positions the Lilywhites need to address in particular during the January transfer window.
Right-back
Pedro Porro has emerged on Real Madrid’s wishlist as they are forced into looking at long-term replacements for Dani Carvajal, who is advancing in his 30s and is out for the season with an ACL injury. Man City are also looking to bring the Spaniard back to the Etihad.
Even if Porro doesn’t go anywhere in January, Tottenham’s other right-back options are Djed Spence, who at best remains on the fringes of the first team, and the versatile teenager Archie Gray. Simply put, Spurs are too thin in this department, and if they are to go deep into competitions on the back of Postecoglou’s intense regimen, they are going to need at least one more right-back option in January—one the head coach will play, at least.
Left-back
The fullback situation on the left isn’t looking too good either. Ben Davies is in his thirties and could leave the club in the coming months while also currently occupying the centre-back spot in the absence of the injured Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, Sergio Reguilón remains on the roster only because a deal for him could not be sorted out in the summer, leaving Destiny Udogie as the sole out-and-out option.
Archie Gray has once again demonstrated his age-defying versatility by playing in this spot (as he did against Galatasaray), but as stated above, Spurs are going to need more hands—or legs, if you prefer—on deck per position to mount challenges in multiple competitions.
Central defence
As pointed out in the previous section, both Romero and Van de Ven are currently out. They are also Spurs’ best centre-backs and have consistently been linked with moves away in recent months. Tottenham’s recent defeat demonstrated that their literal last line of defence that boasts Davies and Radu Drăgușin—who reportedly wants out—is limited in its ability to keep the opposition attackers out.
Spurs may ultimately have to resort to getting a versatile defender or two in January to bolster their defence line in general for at least the second half of this season, someone like Gray or Davies who could occupy multiple positions and get used to Postecoglou’s requirements seamlessly.
