Tottenham Pondering Ryan Mason Sale

As rumors continue to swirl about who will next be brought into Tottenham, it seems as if the club’s first sale might already be in the works.

According to the Sun, Hull City could make their first move of the summer transfer window assuming they are willing to part with the £10 million being asked by Tottenham for Ryan Mason.

Should he make the switch, Mason would join Tottenham alumni Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore at the recently promoted club.

While it’s clear Mason’s status as an England international is inflating his asking price a bit, there’s no doubting that the player would be an asset for many Premier League teams. His penchant for getting forward into attack might tip the balance of his midfield duties, but he’s continued to mature as a player even in his 25th year.

Mason began his professional career after progressing through Tottenham’s youth academy on a series of loan moves to lower division English clubs. Though he never particularly thrived during any of those spells outside the club, Mauricio Pochettino saw fit to give Mason the starting berth alongside Nabil Bentaleb in the Argentine’s first season in charge at Tottenham.

The results, it’s fair to say, were mixed. It’s clear what Pochettino wanted to happen: Mason and Bentaleb would form a pivot, where one player would cover for the other as they helped push upfield when in possession.

Theory and practice often diverged, however. Bentaleb was often left to cover as Mason ignored his defensive duties and surged forward. The space he left in behind him became fertile ground in which oppositions frequently farmed goals.

Though the Mason-Bentaleb experiment failed, Pochettino didn’t entirely give up on either player. Bentaleb earned a start in last term’s opening match against Manchester United, and Mason came in for several games thereafter.

There was evidence in that stretch that Mason had learned his lessons from the 2014/15 season. He was more content to sit back and time his runs forward. His passing and composure helped Tottenham find ways around more stubborn defenses like Leicester and, most notably, Sunderland. Against the latter Mason proved pivotal, weaving his way forward into the path of an Érik Lamela pass in the 82nd minute to score the winning goal.

Unfortunately for Mason, he injured himself in the process of scoring that goal. His subsequent sidelining accelerated Dele Alli’s ascent into the starting XI. By the time Mason was fit again, there simply wasn’t a good argument to be made for dropping the increasingly-stellar Alli in favor of Mason or anyone else.

Mason would go on to play bit parts through the season, including opening Tottenham’s account against Fiorentina in the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16. With Pochettino committed to a regular XI however, Mason’s chances were few and far between. He concluded the 2015/16 season with two disastrous appearances in losses to Southampton and Newcastle.

In truth, Mason might not quite be at the level Pochettino needs even his bench players to be in order to prove valuable to this Tottenham side. He’s got plenty of weapons in his arsenal to be an asset to teams that play in more traditional ways, or teams who are willing to sacrifice a bit of vulnerability for a bit more bite in attack. Tottenham are neither however, and it was clear well before this Hull City connection that Mason’s days were numbered.

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So it is no surprise that Tottenham would be willing — perhaps even anxious — to move on from their homegrown midfielder. If they can command a £10 million fee for him, all the better. That’s money that would be sunk back into the transfer kitty, perhaps helping to finance moves for additional support in midfield.

It’s never easy for Tottenham fans to say goodbye to an academy product — see: Andros Townsend — but in this case a move would be better for both club and player. Tottenham free up roster space and money for a new addition, and Mason gets the minutes he is no doubt desperate for. Everybody wins.