Tottenham could earn massive transfer kitty with sale of key players

Tottenham have a unique opportunity this summer to cash in on several less-than-key players in order to finance the immediate future of the club.

The optics, admittedly, won’t be great. Giving up on some of Tottenham’s most recognizable and loved names is a huge sacrifice, but the reward might even be greater.

Do the math. Let’s say Spurs get £40 million for the sale of Kyle Walker. Add in the rumored £50 million rumored to be on the table for Eric Dier, throw in even half of the £20 million Spurs purportedly want for Kevin Wimmer, and the club are suddenly sitting on the means to massively upgrade this team.

There is no doubting that Walker and Dier are unique talents, some of the best produced in their positions in recent seasons. Wimmer also showed glimpses of massive potential in 2015/16. Yet each of those players, to various extents, found themselves replaced on the pitch this past season.

Mauricio Pochettino is blessed with talent. Even if these three players were to somehow leave without compensation, it’s a safe bet that Tottenham would cover the cracks with relative ease.

Of course, should the club part ways with those players, they won’t have to worry about finding replacements internally. They will perhaps have over £100 million to spend in the summer transfer window.

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That amount, of course, doesn’t go as far as it used to. Tottenham aren’t on the hunt of the type of players that might command that entire sum on their own however. Rather, they are looking at Ricardo Pereira and Matthias Ginter — talented players who could conceivably represent absolute steals. Indeed, if the rumors are true, both players might be available for less than the cost of Walker or Dier alone.

There is precedent here that goes in both directions.

Since Pochettino arrived at the club in 2014, he’s displayed a willingness to part with players that borders on cutthroat. Much of the transfer business done in the last two summer transfer windows was financed through the sale of players like Paulinho, Ryan Mason, Andros Townsend and Roberto Soldado. Pochettino understands that the herd needs to be regularly culled.

He also knows the value of not rocking the boat however. It is in the interest of stability, we’re told, that the club has declined to do any meaningful business in the January transfer window since Pochettino’s arrival. Why introduce a new player midway through a campaign and expect them to internalize Pochettino’s style more or less immediately?

The summer might mean more time to indoctrinate new players, but letting go of regular starters like Walker and Dier still represents a fairly massive disruption. Even if their replacements are close at hand, the psychic damage might be lasting.

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Then, of course, there’s the matter of how exactly this hypothetical would represent an upgrade. Walker and Dier, valuable as they might be, are neck-deep in Pochettino’s footballing philosophy and can continue to perform at high levels for the foreseeable future. The same cannot be said of anyone purchased on the transfer market. That alone might mean that Spurs do whatever they can to avoid turnover.