Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle has pinpointed why the club have struggled to recruit this summer, with Mauricio Pochettino only welcoming two new arrivals to the first-team during the transfer period.
Spurs broke their transfer record to sign midfielder Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, while youngster Jack Clarke will look to be part of the club next year after being sent back on loan to former club Leeds United.
With just days to go before the deadline passes, Hoddle believes that a lack of the talents that Spurs require in various areas has led to their stuttering levels of recruitment this summer – while claiming that Manchester City and Barcelona possess the kind of midfielders Pochettino is said to be after, urging the club to improve in multiple positions.
Speaking to Paddy Power, he said (via Goal): “Every department he needs to improve on while he can.
“He is going to have to get a good defender in, he needs midfielders, one of them who’s creative. That’s the problem. There are no midfielders out there, and I’ve looked.
“Man City have got them all or Barcelona have got them. Even Real Madrid haven’t got them.”
For Hoddle to suggest there are exactly zero midfielders out there seems a little far-fetched, and Spurs have been linked with the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Giovani Lo Celso in recent days.
Although there may be evidence to support other clubs poaching Tottenham’s targets this summer – with Arsenal reportedly beating them to the signature of Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos, who supposedly joined on loan after weighing up both North London clubs.
That said, to simply justify a lack of strengthening in the off-season by suggesting there are no options available leaves a lot to be desired.
Whether there are price-related, wage-related – or even time-related issues at this late stage in the window – the argument that there are no targets to pursue does not exactly hold up as clubs around them have strengthened their engine rooms – while Spurs have already done so themselves this summer.
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