Tottenham Sell Tom Carroll to Swansea

In a deal long rumored to be in the works, Tottenham have sold Academy product and long-waiting prospect Tom Carroll to Swansea for a rumored £5 million fee.

Like the deal that sent Andros Townsend to Newcastle last January, this is the type of deal that benefits everyone: Tottenham, Swansea and Carroll himself.

Tottenham will profit from a player they have long developed but ultimately couldn’t find much use for. New Swansea coach Paul Clement will acquire a talented — if unpolished — young midfielder.

And, of course, Carroll will finally get the playing time he’s sought since graduating from Tottenham’s Academy six years ago.

Spurs did what they could to accommodate that desire early on. Carroll was sent on loan to Leyton Orient, Derby, QPR and also Swansea in the seasons that followed.

Ahead of the 2015/16 season, Mauricio Pochettino felt that Carroll finally earned a chance to prove his worth to his parent club. The England under-21 international was retained for the coming year, earning a spot on the bench and eventually even a few starts. His first Premier League and Europa League goals with Tottenham came shortly thereafter.

It was clear even despite a smattering of fine games and goals that Carroll was perhaps not ready for prime time, so to speak. While he had more experience than fellow Academy graduates Harry Winks and Josh Onomah, there remained something missing from his game that Pochettino needed in a midfielder.

Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembélé all do something more than pass proficiently. They defend well, either tracking back or pulling wide as the flow of the game demands. They partner well with those around them to create situations that are conducive to Tottenham earning and keeping leads. 

Carroll, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned with most defensive duties — losses to both Arsenal and Newcastle fell squarely on his shoulders — and he would often hit dead ends moving forward. There’s a player in there somewhere, one that might even thrive at Swansea, but Pochettino had neither the time nor inclination to refine Carroll any longer.

A new contract this summer, in hindsight, was simply a manner by which Tottenham could ask for more when the time came to sell the 24-year-old. The £5 million they will get is certainly not an astronomical sum, but it was better than simply letting Carroll leave for free when his contract ran out in June.

Next: Tottenham: Vertonghen Out Two Months

Seeing as how Pochettino only once included Carroll on the matchday bench this season, his sale is not a great loss to the club. Besides, Winks’ ascendancy to a regular rotation or substitute options means Tottenham still have backup talent for the midfield if it’s needed.

Still, for those Spurs fans who tracked Carroll’s growth with eager anticipation, it’s slightly disappointing to see him go. Perhaps he wasn’t right for the club in the end, but hopefully he finds hit fit at Swansea.