Tottenham had a strong finish to their summer window, but were they forced to sign alternatives rather than primary targets?
Daniel Levy’s departure from Tottenham on Thursday this week has been met with mixed feelings within the fanbase. However, the same supporters also had mixed thoughts about their summer window, under Levy, which, so happened, was the final one under his tenure.
Tottenham’s summer signings
Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig)
Randal Kolo Muani (PSG)
Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United)
Joao Palhinha (Bayern Munich)
Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich)
Kevin Danso (RC Lens)
Luka Vuskovic (Hajduk Split)
Kota Takai (Kawasaki Front)
Levy took some key decisions over the summer, as he did not allow the Europa League glory to mask his judgment in sealing Ange Postecoglou’s fate following a disastrous Premier League season. The Australian may have ended Tottenham’s much-publicised trophy drought that lasted a massive 17 years by winning the Europa League crown, but Spurs are about building a strong foundation for the future.
Levy installed Thomas Frank at the helm, and the decision has already paid early dividends, especially with the stellar win over Manchester City away from home. However, Tottenham’s summer business raised some questions, particularly in light of the club missing out on some of their primary targets during the window.
Even though Spurs ended their summer window on a high note after acquiring the likes of Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani, they may have underwhelmed in some regards. The signings of those two players may have been by chance, owing to multiple other factors, such as Chelsea backing out of a deal for the Dutchman, while the PSG star wanted a move to Juventus over anyone else.
Hence, we look at the three crucial targets that Spurs missed out on during the window. They get top points for identifying the said players, but zero in terms of urgency in getting a deal over the line, as we explore three crucial names on the list.
Morgan Gibbs-White
The Nottingham Forest star was a controversial subject during the window, as his club made the best of the situation to keep the player on board. The whole saga began when Spurs had just captured Mohammed Kudus as a high-profile signing from West Ham, and the fans went into jubilation as Fabrizio Romano announced the ‘Here We Go’ on Morgan Gibbs-White.
It emerged that Spurs had triggered a supposed release clause in his contract, and the attacking midfielder was pencilled in for a medical. However, Nottingham Forest responded with threats of legal action based on how Tottenham procured the information on the exact figure of the release clause. Had Forest followed through with a legal battle, the situation would have dragged on for many months.
Instead, Gibbs-White agreed to an extension to his contract and showed his commitment. From Tottenham’s perspective, there’s an argument to be made that they might have had a better chance had they deliberately offered money in excess of the release clause.
Even after Forest stirred up a storm, they could have potentially returned to the table with a much-improved offer to test the waters. The recruitment team at Spurs identifying Gibbs-White as a key target proved spot on, as the original plan was to add a new attacking midfielder, only for James Maddison to rupture his ACL later in pre-season.
While they masked the shortcomings in the position with the acquisition of Xavi Simons, at one stage, Tottenham were staring at finishing the window without a new attacking midfielder. Hence, Gibbs-White is probably a big miss, as there’s a feeling Spurs did not do more to push through with the signing and allowed Forest to dominate the saga.
Eberechi Eze
As an extension to the Gibbs-White saga and the need for an attacking midfielder, Spurs took advantage of Arsenal’s inactivity in the Eberechi Eze case. At the end of last summer, Crystal Palace’s chairman expressed his surprise at the fact that no big club came in for Eze despite having a reasonable release clause then.
The release clause was active again this summer, but expired right before the season began. Arsenal were primed to sign the Palace star, but reports stated that they had either wanted to sell some of their squad players first or were content with the emergence of Ethan Nwaneri, who signed a new deal at the Emirates.
Tottenham entered the race at a crucial stage, and although their interest goes back more than a year, they finally acted. Spurs agreed a deal with Palace, and were extremely close to bringing Eze in for a medical. It so happens, the playmaker made a call to Mikel Arteta to gauge Arsenal’s interest one last time, but on this occasion, the Gunners wasted no time hijacking the deal and getting Eze to the Emirates.
From Tottenham’s perspective, this was a massive loss not only in terms of missing out on a player hat looked perfect for their system, but also to lose to their bitter rivals across town. Eze was clearly the alternative to Gibbs-White, and at that time, a desperate attempt to cover for the loss of Maddison.
He would have fit right into Frank’s system, which craves an attacking midfielder of Eze’s qualities. Once again, the Simons deal seems like something of an opportunity Spurs had to risk it all to take, and although it happened, he may not be as good as Eze in terms of quality. The saga for the new Arsenal star has had an impact on the fans, who were in for another shock, as the Gunners hijacked another potential target.
Piero Hincapie
Tottenham planned to have good defensive depth heading into the new season, and the left-hand side seemed like a priority. The recruitment team set their sights on a certain Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen, and the arrival of the Ecuadorian would have solved multiple issues in the squad.
For starters, Tottenham wanted a viable cover for Micky van de Ven at centre-back as well as a new left-back to challenge Destiny Udogie for his spot. Spurs have overused Djed Spence as a left-back since last season, and with the need for a large squad to sustain all competitions, signing Hincapie would have been ideal.
Once again, Spurs were the first on the scene, as they made a serious approach to tempt Bayer Leverkusen. Fabrizio Romano stated, they were willing to pay his €60 million release clause via a loan with a buy obligation. However, since the news broke out, Arsenal barely wasted less than an hour to make their presence felt, or at least that is how it was presented in media reports.
Eventually, the Gunners completed the move on deadline day, although the framework of the deal was agreed upon a few days prior. As for Tottenham, from a defensive and depth perspective, Hincapie was a big miss for their transfer department, as they did not look to address the situation following the end of the transfer window.