Toby
Toby Alderweireld has signed. Deepest sympathy for our friends in Southampton. Although not quite sure what the problem was. They had time to sign him before our interest. He was on loan there. They could have stipulated a more robust clause in his contract that gave them first refusal. Still, that appears to be irrelevant now as the player clearly prefers to join the Belgium contingent at Spurs.
Solid defender, one that will hopefully elevate Jan Vertonghen to more consistent displays. Gives us far better definition in defence especially for the long term. Looks like these two and Eric Dier and Kevin Wimmer will share responsibilities across all competitions. Fazio and Chiriches remain tentative. I see no way back for Kaboul.
With Nabil Bentaleb signing a new 5 year contract and with only Hugo Lloris remaining (at the back) to confirm his loyalty, we are left looking at the DM position and the forward roles. We need an experience/top tier midfielder to anchor some much needed dominance in the centre. Sandro at his best (not often) was always the dream so I'm keen to see what we do here. Is the answer a defensive worker in the mould of a Scott Parker? Or an enforcer, cleaning up and passing it to the more capable? Or an all-rounder? The latter the holy grail of signings.
Upfront is a mess. Harry Kane the only certain selectable player. Adebayor claims he's staying. He had a horrific time away from football that impacted his season but he remains flaky in terms of what he can give us. Hot, cold, hot, cold. Soldado hasn't been linked with a move away until today. The suggestion is he wants more first team football. If he scored goals he'd get that at Spurs. Our investment in him perhaps too big to let him go this soon, even with two massively disappointing seasons with us. That's unless we get a hefty amount back. Another 'Magnificent Seven' player to depart then. Another loss compared to the outlay and wages paid.
Still, it's all good. We are making steady progress. Dross out, reliability in. Just need everything sorted by the end of pre-season.
Welcome Toby, you handsome lad.