Tottenham Hotspur Links: Spurs are Closing the Gap on Arsenal and Chelsea
It’s time to get your daily Tottenham Hotspur Links for the day.
There’s three stories to read. What are they exactly? The opening news begins with a quick look on how Tottenham, along with West Ham United, are closing the gap towards the top of the league table everyday. Next, if at all possible — which isn’t likely at all — Spurs should consider signing West Ham center-back Winston Reid. Right now, Reid would only replace Federico Fazio on the squad and push to become the team’s third-choice central defender. But with that said, center-back depth and adding another player that Mauricio Pochettino trusts to help rotate the squad would be good. And lastly, a potential transfer target in January is Yunus Malli, a 23-year-old attacking midfielder. Malli would be another depth player to have to give Christian Eriksen and/or Son Heung-min rest. Time to get to the links below.
- Tottenham and West Ham are closing the gap on Arsenal and Chelsea everyday
- [via London Evening Standard]
This is a big statement to make by the London Evening Standard but both Tottenham and West Ham United have been progressing recently and could take top of the league table by storm. For Spurs, with a new stadium set to open by the 2018-2019 Premier League season, a power shift may happen in north London. Money will be tight for a few seasons because Tottenham will have to pay their debts back, which Arsenal had to do after moving to the Emirates Stadium. But having a possibility of two NFL games during a 10-year partnership (20 games overall) could dramatically help Spurs with some extra funding, that haven’t had or spent in a while.
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- Why Winston Reid is the West Ham player Tottenham should consider signing
- [via Bleacher Report]
Earlier this year, around February, Tottenham and Winston Reid were reportedly close to reaching an agreement with the center-back about to join Spurs on a free transfer in the summer transfer window. A month later, Reid would sign a six-year contract extension to remain with West Ham instead. At the time of the New Zealand international’s contract extension being agreed, it was a loss for Spurs who were looking for center-back help to partner up with Jan Vertonghen.
Once the summer transfer window opened, Kevin Wimmer and Toby Alderweireld were signed to address the center-back position. Alderweireld has proven to be one of Spurs’ best signings in recent history and while Wimmer hasn’t been given many opportunities to play, he’s being groomed for a future first-team role. Perhaps partnering up with Cameron Carter-Vickers or giving Vertonghen rest in future seasons. In the end, Tottenham missed out on a good player in Winston Reid, but have been able to cover that loss with a great signing.
The German-born Turkish international has been doing very well in the Bundesliga this season with 15 appearances, seven goals, one assist and 1,262 minutes played in all competitions. In all 15 appearances so far, the 23-year-old attacking midfielder has started every single game.
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Yunus Malli’s age makes him a good player to target in January to help bolster Mauricio Pochettino’s attacking midfield position. Even though Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min are healthy, there’s a need for more reinforcements.
Alex Pritchard isn’t healthy yet and could be loaned out to get some playing time with a Premier League club fighting to get out of a relegation battle. Mousa Dembélé is also hurt and won’t be ready any time soon, thus thinning this position by at least two players.
While Dele Alli has played as an attacking mid when Ryan Mason is subbed in to play in Alli’s former spot, central midfield. The partnership between Alli and Eric Dier centrally shouldn’t be disrupted not until Ryan Mason is introduced into the game.
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It’s not mandatory to sign Yunus Malli, a young 23-year-old attacking midfielder in January. But it is a necessity to sign any attacking midfielder to combat wear-and-tear on Tottenham’s starting midfielders who have mostly played the entire season in both the Premier League and Europa League fixtures with minimal rest. Depth is going to be needed once the new year begins if Mauricio Pochettino wants to make sure his team doesn’t slip up again like last season.