Skipp’s Future 1 of 3 Big Summer Decisions for Tottenham

Recently the future of Oliver Skipp has been up for discussion in the press. The young midfielder has impressed on loan for Norwich in the Championship and has some wondering about a permanent transfer or a second loan spell. As Spurs fans, we know a permanent transfer of the club’s future captain is off the table, but another loan for Oliver Skipp is one of three big decisions facing Tottenham in the summer.

Few Tottenham Free Agents

Most summer transfer windows begin with decisions to make on the players who are running out of contract, however, Tottenham has very few. In fact, there is only one senior “player” on permanently at the club whose contract ends June 30, 2021- Danny Rose. Of course Rose had a very public – thanks to Amazon – fall-out with José Mourinho and his tenure with the club ended long before his contract will.

That is it, Danny Rose is the only contract that is up this summer for Tottenham. However, there are three players on-loan that need some decisions to be made that are going to impact the club next season and moving forward. So what should the club do with Gareth Bale, Carlos Vinicius, and Oliver Skipp?

Bale is coming back, right?

A month ago writing that Bale was coming back for 2021-22 was more like a headline for the onion than something fans were hoping for, as the loan looked lost. However, the last several weeks have seen the Gareth Bale many have thought was still in there and suddenly bringing Bale back for one more season is a serious question.

The big sticking point with Bale – beyond his body holding up – is of course his price tag. Currently, the belief is that his pay is highly subsidized by Real Madrid and Daniel Levy would want – frankly need that – to continue to keep the Welshman. Of course Real Madrid likely just wants Bale off the wage book – reportedly he was at 600k/week at Madrid. If the dollars can be made to work, then yes we could see Bale come back again for another season, assuming he can make it to the end of the season healthy.

What happens to Carlos Vinicius?

Carlos Vinicius has done pretty much anything anyone could have asked the young man to do. Carlos was leading the team in scoring in the Europa League before Harry Kane‘s brace last week pushed him into second. Opportunities for Vinicius outside of Europe and the cups have been extremely limited with Harry Kane staying mostly healthy.

Next season would likely bring more of the same, although a second season under Mourinho could garner Vinicius more trust and more minutes. The problem is Benfica is going to want to sell Vinicius and the lack of trust shown outside of Europe in Vinicius leads one to believe, Mourinho is not dead set on the Brazilian.

Ultimately, the question becomes how much better of a back-up striker can Spurs get, knowing they are going to be a back-up? Maybe Vinicius gets another loan or maybe Dane Scarlett gets a chance. Either way, unless something bad happens with Harry Kane the opportunities are limited, thus a big name is never coming to play second fiddle.

Oliver Skipp gets his shot in the Premier League

One way or another, next season is a big one for Oliver Skipp as it is likely to be his first really legitimate shot to play regularly in the Premier League. Now, who Skipp is playing for is a different question. Norwich continues to fly in the Championship.

Norwich City suffered a small blip in January where they did not win for four straight, drawing either side of consecutive losses. However, before that stretch, the Canaries had won four straight and have now won seven in a row since then. With a seven-point lead on second-place Norwich look a good bet to make the jump back to the Premier League.

Oliver Skipp has been a big part of the success this season and wanting the young man either permanently or again on loan would make sense. While a permanent transfer would take an offer too ludicrous to consider, another loan may make sense for young Skipp. Tottenham clearly will have Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele in the backend of the midfield in front of Oliver so he would be a substitute and squad player for starters.

Then you have to consider that at least one of Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks – if not both – will be back with the team next season. Sissoko has a contract until 2023 and Winks is signed until 2024. Sure fans may want either or even both moved, but that is going to take some real cash to make Daniel Levy do it.

In looking at the minutes, Sissoko has played 58% of the available minutes for Tottenham this season and WInks has played on 26%. Compare that to Skipp who has played 97% of the minutes for Norwich. Those 3074 minutes Skipp has logged this season are something he could never have gotten at Tottenham this year.

Looking ahead to next season, another 3000+ minutes and an entire season of starting in the Premier League – less two matches against his parent club – seems like a great idea for Skippy. Combined WInks and Sissoko have played just north of 3800 minutes this season, which Skipp will do on his own before the campaign ends. Even if one of the two are gone – no way both are without new cover coming – Skipp gets fewer minutes with Tottenham than with Norwich.

If it is just about playing time, Skipp is likely to get one more season on loan. However, the decision will be made on much more than playing time alone, although at 20 playing time is what Skipp needs. Ultimately, the decision on Skipp, like Bale, and like Vinicius is a big one for Spurs this summer. While Bale or Vinicius can go wrong, with Skipp it sure seems like a win-win either way for the promising young future captain.