Tottenham Transfer Window Countdown: Requirements, Targets, Departures

With under 16 hours to the end of the January transfer window what are Tottenham’s requirements, who is a possible target and who could be leaving White Hart Lane? We’ll know the answers to these questions by 11pm this evening.

Lewis Holtby [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]

Up-date:

Tim Sherwood, at his press conference, said,

• The loan deal of Lewis Holtby to Fulham has been confirmed by the player’s agent and also by both clubs.

• Napoli, according to Gazzetta Dello Sport, have made Tottenham an offer for Capoue in the region of €14m and other reports have Berbatov is in Monaco to complete a deal.

• Daily Mail have now reported Dimitar Berbatov is off to AC Monaco while SkySports report that Lewis Holtby is training with Fulham and @Adam79Suter has Vucinic moving to that other north London club.

• Tottenham have confirmed that full back Ryan Fredericks has signed a new contract to 2016 and that his loan period with Millwall has been extended to the end of the season.

• According to the Independent Spurs are prepared to listen to offers for Nacer Chadli and Gylfi Sigudsson.

Requirements:

The two areas where it is thought that Tottenham could be strengthened are at left back and in the purchase of a striker. In both positions they are short of cover. Danny Rose has reclaimed his place at left back but with him facing suspension after being sent off against Manchester City, Spurs will have to find a replacement for the next three games.

Kyle Naughton and Ryan Fredericks [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]Tottenham are to appeal the red card but if that is unsuccessful, Kyle Naughton or Zeki Fryers would have to step in. Naughton is not comfortable on the left while Fryers has limited experience. An alternative would be to play Jan Vertonghen, if fit, but he’s wasn’t happy having to cover at left back during Rose’s lengthy absence through injury.

With Jermain Defoe to leave for Toronto at the end of February, Spurs will be relying on Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado to score the goals and hope that they avoid any serious injury. Harry Kane could be utilised, if required, but he plays more often on the left side of midfield these days.

Tim Sherwood is keen to encourage the younger players but there are no obvious candidates to step up to fill either of those positions.

Targets

Tim Sherwood has been very reluctant to commit to any interest in adding to the squad. @HotspurRelated have noted Sherwood’s comments, he said,

"The Chairman is always asking me if there’s anyone we need. I need to make sure they are the quality we need and not just a body for the sake of it."

Dimitar Berbatov is expected to leave Fulham and Spurs have been linked as his possible destination over the past month. If a deal was completed, he would be a very short term solution to the club’s lack of strikers. How will he and Adebayor get on? Watch this space. Any move for Berbatov is dependent on Fulham signing a replacement.

There appears to be little interest from the club in signing a full back with the only possible targets mentioned over the past day being Yevhen Konoplyanka from Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

, a left winger who is a target for Liverpool and a deal for Nani from Manchester United.

The picture over Konoplyanka is confusing as some reports say both clubs have had a bid accepted (Sky Sports News) while others have it that Tottenham are no longer interested as Liverpool have increased their bid. Goal has reported that Spurs have pulled out as Tim Sherwood expressed doubts about the player.

ITV have reported that Spurs are in talks with Manchester United for a loan deal for the Portuguese winger, Nani. A conflicting report from TuttoSport in Italy, however, has Nani moving to Inter Milan.

Departures

Sherwood was equally reluctant to comment on any players leaving Tottenham.

"I haven’t heard that there’s anyone moving out. I’m happy to keep everyone we’ve got. If they do move then it will be my decision if they go."

The two players about whom there has been most speculation are Lewis Holtby and Etienne Capoue. Holtby threw his shirt into the crowd at the end of the match against City and this has been interpreted by many as his farewell to White Hart Lane. Sherwood said that he didn’t see it but  the photograph was tweeted by @AddictedtoSpurs .

There had been a number of clubs linked with Holtby but it would appear that Fulham is his most likely destination. @HotspurRelated tweeted that the Southampton manager, Pochettino said that Fulham had signed Holtby from Tottenham but the Craven cottage club denied it.

Negotiations are, however, thought to be going on according to the Mirror, with a loan deal expected to be announced, although there was a rumour of a permanent deal which would seem strange from Spurs point of view as Holtby was only signed twelve months ago.

Another source has linked Fulham with being interested in goalkeeper, Heurelho Gomes.

The latest news on Capoue who came on as a half-time substitute against City and scored the Tottenham goal, is that Naploi are still interested and have made a bid.

There will be many conflicting stories through the course of the day – even as I wrote this article, the rumours were changing and I was constantly having to up-date the piece.

I don’t expect Spurs to complete any major signings, Sherwood appears reluctant to make changes in the squad but the most likely deals to be completed before this evening’s deadline are Berbatov to come in from Fulham, as suggested by HotspurHQ at the beginning of December, with Holtby moving in the other direction. A possible consequence of Holtby leaving could be Tom Carroll being recalled from Queen’s Park Rangers.

Latest News:

• The Daily Mail are reporting that Jake Livermore has been recalled from Hull City which, if true, could indicate that Capoue could also be close to a move.

This is thought to be inaccurate as rules may prohibit the recall of a Premier League player.

• The Sun has reported that Manchester United are considering a move for Andros Townsend.

Will that be enough to secure a Champions League finish for Tottenham?

Up-dates

I hope to up-date this article throughout the day with any breaking news so check it out again later on. I’ll put any breaking news at the very top of the story. COYS