Did Tottenham Hotspur manage to enjoy a good transfer window in the end?
One has to feel that, after their win over Manchester City, they nailed one thing: The signing of Steven Bergwijn.
Daniel Levy, of course, had a challenge to rise to in this window: Jose Mourinho, the club’s manager, had never managed the side throughout a single transfer market and, yet, he appears to have been appeased in at least two areas.
The signing of Bergwijn was Spurs seizing an opportunity presented to them; they were first linked with him on a Sunday and, in a matter of days, he had signed on the dotted line. This was a quick deal that was completed rapidly.
The other signing saw Gedson Fernandes arrive on a loan deal from Benfica and nobody really knows what he is going to be; at this point, he is a set of attributes and is just 21, having played just seven times in Liga NOS in Portugal this term prior to his move. Giovani Lo Celso’s loan move was made permanent, too.
Yet Mourinho surely found the same frustrations as Mauricio Pochettino; Levy was unable to strengthen the club’s forward line and also seemed to ignore the glaring deficiencies in defence and in defensive midfield.
Pochettino, of course, was sacked in November and there are a number of stories of players that slipped through Spurs’ fingers during the reign of the Argentine: Jack Grealish could have arrived from Aston Villa but Levy dragged his heels on the deal while there was also a refusal to pay up for Sadio Mane, then at Southampton, prior to his move to Liverpool.
Mourinho has already aired his grievances about the club’s failure to sign a striker; even after the win over City, he revealed that they can only play a certain way – on the counter-attack – because of the lack of a No.9.
Spurs had hoped, per sources, to sign Olivier Giroud from Chelsea in the final week of the transfer window but the deal could not be completed because the Blues failed to sign a forward to replace him. There is surely frustration, however, in north London, at Giroud’s situation. He did not even feature on the bench as Frank Lampard’s side drew 2-2 with Leicester City at the weekend.
A true test for any Spurs fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?
There was also interest in Krzysztof Piatek and Willian Jose; sources say that the former was the subject of a loan bid but that Milan were repeatedly clear that they needed to sell him. They eventually did just that, as he moved to Hertha Berlin. Jose, by comparison, has said that he felt it was a “big opportunity” to move to Spurs but Levy was unable to agree a deal with Sociedad.
It is a familiar failing. In defensive midfield, they only have Eric Dier, while both Danny Rose and Kyle Walker-Peters were allowed to leave on loan in January and were not at all replaced.
And so, one has to feel that Pochettino will have been watching these events unfold with something of a wry smile on his face.
Mourinho has had some areas strengthened – Bergwijn looks to be an excellent signing after scoring a brilliant volley against City – but there are still some glaring deficiencies in the squad.
It is hard to judge the talent at Mourinho’s disposal at this point, of course, because the season is not yet over and Spurs are fifth in the Premier League, just four points off the top four.
One has to feel, though, that they could have been boosted by some further buys in January – it remains to be seen how much those possible acquisitions, such as Giroud, will be missed.
Meanwhile, loads of Spurs fans love one Mourinho moment!