Tottenham fans’ Wednesday morning started off in the best way possible after Spurs supporters were greeted with the news that their club have completed the permanent signing of Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid.
Undoubtedly one of the most sensible purchases of the summer so far with the Belgian international capable of playing at centre back, full back and in defensive midfield, Alderweireld opted not to sign for Southampton whom he spent a successful loan spell with last season.
Becoming Mauricio Pochettino’s third signing of the summer after both Kevin Wimmer and Kieran Trippier, Spurs fans would now like to see their Argentine boss splash out on a new striker to share the goalscoring burden with Harry Kane, not to mention a dominating central midfielder.
Etienne Capoue recently left the club for Watford with Benjamin Stambouli set to follow him to Vicarage Road while Paulinho was sold to China suggesting that Spurs are clearing the deadwood in order to pave the way for a new midfield arrival.
While it has been slow, Tottenham are clearly selecting their transfer targets very carefully and this approach is admirable given the way in which they hastily splashed the cash following the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.
But who exactly could be following Alderweireld to White Hart Lane this summer? Here’s five more guys that could be completing a Spurs transfer.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 players to follow Toby Alderweireld to Tottenham this summer.
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Steven N’Zonzi
While Nabil Bentaleb signed a new deal this week and represents something of a physical presence in the Spurs midfield, the feeling is that Tottenham need to land another imposing midfielder.
With Capoue, Paulinho and Stambouli departing, Pochettino could be lining up a midfielder as his next arrival at White Hart Lane and the Spurs boss could do a lot worse than Stoke City’s Steven N’Zonzi.
N’Zonzi has been in the Premier League for six years now, originally starting off at Blackburn Rovers in 2009 and in that time, he has steadily improved season after season.
One of the unsung heroes in the Premier League, the Frenchman is yet to pen a new deal at the Britannia Stadium with The Express previously claiming that he is holding out hope of completing a switch to Arsenal, Liverpool or Spurs.
The latest regarding the player’s future is that a Spanish Wikipedia entry has already claimed he’s a Sevilla player and while a keyboard warrior may have got a bit eager, Spurs will have to beat off competition from the Europa League winners to secure his signature.
Charlie Austin
While Tottenham fans think that Harry Kane has absolutely no designs on departing his very own Tottenham Hotspur this summer, they will live rather more comfortably when the Manchester United rumours die down for good.
Kane has said time and again that he is happy as a Spurs player but there are still rumours that Manchester United could be making a tempting £40 million bid for his services amid speculation that Robin van Persie is on his way out of Old Trafford.
If Kane ended up leaving White Hart Lane in what would be one of the transfers of the summer, the truth is that Spurs would need to replace him but as its stands right now, they could do with striking reinforcements anyway.
Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado have both proved that they can’t be relied upon for goals last season so you’d imagine that Tottenham are at least monitoring Charlie Austin’s situation at QPR.
The R’s forward proved he can score goals in top flight last term and looks more than ready to make the step up to a club of Spurs’ stature.
Xherdan Shaqiri
Last week it looked as if Xherdan Shaqiri’s move to Stoke City was a formality after the Potters ended up agreeing a £12 million fee with Inter Milan for his services.
However, talk of a switch to the Britannia Stadium has gone eerily quiet since and we wonder whether the Swiss international paid attention to Twitter in the interim whereby football fans were stunned that such a gifted player would choose to continue his career at Stoke of all places.
What might be Stoke’s loss might be Tottenham’s gain with reports since claiming that Spurs could receive Shaqiri in part exchange for Erik Lamela who Inter Milan have had their eye on for a while now.
Lamela was a fantastic player in Serie A during his spell with Roma but the Argentine has simply been unable to recreate those performances in England.
Tottenham fans want him to do well more than most because they know the talent is there – just look at that famous rabona goal – but perhaps now is the time to give up on Lamela?
James McCarthy
The papers were awash with claims that Tottenham are readying a £20 million deal for Everton’s James McCarthy yesterday.
Although not a dominating presence in the midfield, the Republic of Ireland international has proved himself in the position by a series of eye-catching displays in recent seasons.
In addition to the fee, Spurs are also reportedly willing to include Aaron Lennon in a deal for McCarthy and with the former England international impressing on loan at Goodison Park last term, you’d imagine Lennon wouldn’t be against completing a switch to Merseyside.
With Capoue, Paulinho and Stambouli departing, perhaps this is to make room for McCarthy? Watch this space.
Olivier Kemen
Another player Tottenham have been linked with more recently is Newcastle United’s French youngster Olivier Kemen who is yet to rack up any game time for the Magpies in the Premier League as yet.
An unused substitute on a few occasions under John Carver last term, the latest from The Express is that Tottenham and Liverpool are keeping tabs on the midfielder’s situation at St James’ Park.
Tottenham are always on the lookout for players who can contribute in the long-term; just look at the likes of Dele Alli and DeAndre Yedlin, so you can’t rule out the prospect of Pochettino pursuing a deal.
While a deal for Kemen would hardly get Spurs fans out of their seats, this is a deal that is certainly more believable than some you read!
