Tottenham’s Summer of Transfer Activity (2012)

Tottenham’s transfer negotiations started bright and early by their standards before fizzling out in mid-summer only to re-ignite in the final days of August. As usual, much was left to the final day of the month and as frequently happens and not all negotiations reached a successful conclusion. Andre Villas-Boas has seen considerable change to the squad but there remains a nucleus of players who have contributed little in recent seasons and who would appear to have no part in Tottenham’s future.

‘Out with the Old in with the New’

The first transfer which was largely unexpected and surprised many with its suddenness saw the departure of Harry Redknapp and Andre Villas-Boas installed as Head Coach. There had been rumours that Redknapp would be leaving regardless of whether he was appointed to the England position and so it proved. The introduction of Villas-Boas was also widely tipped but after his experience with Chelsea last season was regarded as a risky appointment.

Early Departures

Vedran Corluka having been with Bayer Leverkusen on loan since January was transferred to Lokomotiv Moscow for a fee of £5.5 million. The form of Kyle Walker who was clearly first choice at right back meant that Corluka’s opportunities were severely restricted and he wanted to get first team football and so opted to join Slaven Bilic, the former Croatia coach in Russia.

Nico Kranjcar who had little opportunity at Spurs last season joined Dynamo Kiev for £7 million in early June in search of first team football. Other squad players to leave White Hart Lane were the two veterans signed in January – Ryan Nelsen, who signed for Queen’s Park Rangers, and Louis Saha being released. Goalkeeper, Ben Alnwick was also released and signed for Barnsley.

New Arrivals

Shortly after the announcement of Villas-Boas as Coach, Tottenham completed the signing of two players. Jan Vertonghen arrived from Ajax, a deal which had been long anticipated as the clubs had reached agreement but was delayed until negotiations between Ajax and the player came to a satisfactory conclusion.

The signing of Glyfi Sigurdsson from Hoffenhein for £7 million was completed with amazing haste for Tottenham as they stepped in to high-jack a deal which appeared to be taking the Icelandic player to Liverpool but he opted for White Hart Lane instead. Sigurdsson had an outstanding period on loan with Swansea City last season.

Ledley King

The arrival of Vertonghen was timely as Ledley King announced his retirement from playing due to his recurring and constant injury problems. It was not an unexpected announcement as King has played for the past seasons with limited training but still managed to produce impressive performances, holding the Tottenham defence together with his calming authority.

From that point in July, the rumours continued of Tottenmah’s interest in a wide range of players to cover a variety of positions from goalkeeper to striker. The Luka Modric saga continued with the only uncertainty being when the deal to take him to Real Madrid would be completed.

Steven Pienaar returned to Everton as had been widely expected following his successful loan spell during the second half of last season. The fee was £4.5 million, an increase of £1.5 million on what Spurs paid in January, 2011.

Late August Transfer Activity

With the season already started, Tottenham sold Sebastien Bassong to Norwich City. Bassong was low on Tottenham’s list of central defenders with Younes Kaboul, Vertonghen, William Gallas, Steven Caulker and Michael Dawson ahead of him.

Before their second match against West Bromwich Albion, Spurs signed Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City for £5 million. Negotiations had been on-going since the end of the season but only reached a satisfactory conclusion for all parties with ten days to go to the end of the transfer window. It was a transfer which Tottenham needed to complete as they had started the opening match against Newcastle United with only one senior striker, Jermain Defoe.

At the start of the final week for transfers, it was announced that Modric was finally joining Real Madrid. This brought a further £30 million to Tottenham’s transfer kitty and immediately resulted in the midweek arrival of Mousa Dembele from Fulham to strengthen the midfield. Further negotiations were being carried out with a variety of clubs – for the Brazilian, Willian, for Hugo Lloris the French goalkeeper, for Joao Moutinho from Porto and another striker.

With another goalkeeper expected to be signed Tottenham completed the transfer of reserve, David Button to Charlton Athletic. The former Academy player who had made one appearance in a Cup tie for Spurs, now aged 23 years, had been out on loan to a succession of clubs.

Frantic Friday

On the final day, many deals were being worked on but it is impossible to bring them all to a conclusion and so it proved once again. The first transfer was the departure of Rafael Van der Vaart to Hamburg after two years at White Hart Lane for a fee of £10 million. This deal had been a possibility for most of the summer but it’s sudden conclusion left Tottenham short of creativity in midfield where Modric and Van der Vaart had been key to their recent success. Van der Vaart, a great favourite with the fans, commented on his time with Tottenham,

"“Of course I am sad to leave Spurs and especially all the fans who have been nothing but great!!”"

A deal was then agreed which saw Danny Rose sign on loan for Sunderland for the year. It was thought that Jermaine Jenas was also going to Wearside but that didn’t happen.

Giovani dos Santos departed for Spanish club, Real Mallorca on a four year deal.

The first player to sign for Spurs was Clint Dempsey who had refused to play for Fulham and looked destined for Liverpool but late negotiations brought him to White Hart Lane. His goal scoring ability was probably seen as a bonus with negotiations failing to produce a quality striker.

The deals for Lloris and Moutinho dragged on with conflicting reports as to whether they could be completed before the 11pm deadline. Lloris was signed from Lyon for a fee of £12 million but time ran out on Villas-Boas’ main target, Moutinho. It had been reported that the deal had collapsed but last minute negotiations has resurrected it as Tottenham looked set to break their transfer fee record but the papers submitted by Porto were incorrectly completed and the transfer collapsed. Daniel Levy had lost out in his annual August game of brinkmanship.

The transfer of Lloris was not universally accepted  in France. Reports included comments from former team mates, disappointed at his leaving.

“Even though it was widely expected, Hugo Lloris’ imminent switch to Tottenham is not going down well in France. Several Lyon players have expressed their disappointment at the goalkeeper’s decision to leave the Stade de Gerland after four seasons, with defender Dejan Lovren offering a short, solemn tweet that simply read, “I am sad.”

Playmaker Clement Grenier echoed that sentiment, saying:

"“We’re certainly going to miss him. He’s a good man and one of the best goalkeepers in the world. For him, Tottenham may be a stepping stone to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.”"

Ex-France international Jean-Michel Larque said,

"“Lloris earns Lyon five or six extra points every season. Now Tottenham will get those extra points.”"

The transfer activity has presented Villas-Boas with a re-vamped squad and the task of blending the new with the old as he seeks to stamp his authority on the team and its style of play.

There are still a number of players who have been on the periphery of the squad for some time and are not part of Villas-Boas’ long term plans. They may be given the opportunity to go abroad as some transfer windows have yet to close or they could go out on loan to Championship clubs in the coming weeks as he seeks to bring balance to the squad. The imminent announcement of the 25 man squad for the Premier League may give further light as to which players will be available for such moves.

A new manager arriving at a club always bring change to the playing personnel at the club and so it has proved one again this summer at Tottenham.