Tottenham supporters in the Transfer Tavern are eagerly anticipating the 2018/19 Premier League season following the news that manager Mauricio Pochettino and Harry Kane have signed long-term deals with the North London club.
46-year-old Pochettino took over at Spurs back in 2014 after impressing in a short stint at Southampton, and the Argentine has certainly transformed the North Londoners into one of the best teams in the country with three successive top four finishes in the Premier League. And England international Kane has become one of the best strikers in world football in the last couple of years by netting a staggering 140 goals in 213 appearances for Tottenham, with his tally of 41 last term his best return in a single season.
As such, there are many optimistic and expectant Spurs supporters in the Tavern at present, although they are unlikely to be overly thrilled by recent reports linking midfielder Victor Wanyama with a move to Borussia Dortmund.
And while many of our resident Tottenham fans are discussing a possible title challenge next term, they can forget about that as even a top four place would be a struggle if they sanctioned the £27 million-rated (as per Transfermarkt) star’s departure this summer.
Ultimately, while injuries prevented him from turning out for much of the first half of the season, there is little doubting that the 26-year-old is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, and as such would be a huge loss were he to leave Spurs this summer.
The Kenya international struck up an outstanding partnership with Mousa Dembele in the heart of Pochettino’s midfield in the 2016/17 campaign to help Tottenham finish second in the Premier League, with it arguable that the Chelsea duo of N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic were the only pairing better than the Spurs stars.
In fact, many of our resident Tottenham fans felt that Wanyama was the club’s player of the year that term such was the impact he had in controlling and dominating the midfield area, an area that will be crucial once again if Pochettino’s side are to sustain a title challenge.
And while some Spurs supporters will point to the fact that they finished third without Wanyama being at his absolute best last season, the combination of both he and Dembele leaving would leave a gaping hole in the middle of the park, a hole that the likes of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko simply cannot fill.
And given they only finished two points clear of fourth place Liverpool last term, who were focusing on the Champions League final for the final few weeks of the campaign, and seven points clear of a Chelsea side that are always much-improved after a testing season, Spurs’ place in the top four would be under serious threat were Wanyama to leave the club.
Thus, Spurs would struggle to qualify for the Champions League this season if they let the Kenyan star go, let alone challenge the likes of Manchester City for the title.
Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!
