There’s no shortage of players Tottenham, if they can find suitable replacements, should offload during the summer transfer window.
A rebuild often starts with disposing of the trash. That might be a bit harsh, but every restoration requires a clean slate. Spurs must keep your foundation in place, both to ensure competitiveness and for key members of the squad to show incoming talent the ropes.
Tottenham cannot mess with the foundation
Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Spurs aren’t currently overloaded with foundational members they can ill-afford to do without. Harry Kane will probably sign with Manchester City, which, if the prospective transfer comes to fruition, will severely impact Tottenham’s immediate future.
Club captain Hugo Lloris is another foundational player at Spurs. Unfortunately his situation is unclear, with many expecting the World Cup winner to finish his illustrious career away from north London. He has a year left on his current contract, so this summer will, whether he signs or is sold, could prove decisive in determining what the remainder of his career will look like.
Sonny (contracted until June 2023) is almost guaranteed to stay at least another season, while the verdict is out on the likes of Dele Alli (contracted until June 2024) and Gareth Bale (loan spell over).
Pierre Hojberg (contracted until June 2025), thankfully, isn’t going anywhere, a player Tottenham can certainly focus their rebuild around.
Midfielders Tottenham should offload this summer
Before I get into the crux of the piece, let me just say that selling these players is predicated purely on being able to find suitable replacements while garnering market value. By no means is offloading players an easy task, but Tottenham will, if possible, want these players to find new clubs to ply their trade with prior to the start of next season.
Moussa Sissoko — Contracted until June 30, 2023
It’s the end of the line for Moussa Sissoko at Tottenham. The Frenchman, other than his first season at Spurs, enjoyed his worst campaign with the club. Inconsistent, error-prone and way off the pace, the 31-year-old, who turns 32 in August, has ran his last race with Spurs.
Transfermarkt currently has the Frenchman valued at just below £10 million, a fair evaluation of his worth on the open market. He still has the capability to impact proceedings in the centre of the park, just not for Tottenham.
Take nothing away from Sissoko’s tenure at Spurs. After a horrendous time adapting to the Premier League, Sissoko came into his own under Mauricio Pochettino‘s tutelage. He was a guaranteed starter for an extended period and contributed massively to the side.
Harry Winks — Contracted until June 30, 2024
I never thought I’d say this, but the time has come for Harry Winks to find a new setting to revitalize his sputtering career. Winks has endured possibly the worst regression of any Tottenham player since Pochettino left the club.
Slower, indecisive, unconfident and not nearly direct enough, Winks has played himself out of contention at the national and, had it not been for the favouritism bestowed by Ryan Mason, club level.
There is every chance Winks, after a summer to regroup, can still experience a resurgence at Tottenham. I’m the first onboard with that scenario.
But Winks has been a shadow of his former self for over a year now, and a spell elsewhere is the best way to spark a new light on a career that is quickly darkening. A loan deal would be ideal for Spurs, letting him venture elsewhere to regain his form before returning to show he can still be a force with his boyhood club.
Defenders who should leave Tottenham
Serge Aurier — Contracted until June 30, 2022
Serge Aurier, with interest from Real Madrid and PSG, is as good as gone. He won’t return to Tottenham next season, a blessing, if they find a viable replacement, for the club.
Transfermarkt has him valued at £15 million, a sum Tottenham would be pleased to receive. Spurs bought Aurier for £23 million four years ago. Taking a loss of £8 million feels like a fair depreciation of an asset whose erratic, enigmatic character has turned him into more of a liability. He is as polarizing as the current state of national politics in the UK.
Though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him emulate Kieran Trippier’s success abroad.
Danny Rose — Contracted until June 30, 2021
Danny Rose, who never saw eye-to-eye with Tottenham’s former gaffer, was completely exiled by Jose Mourinho. Rose and Mourinho had a few explosive encounters that eventually led to an unreconcilable relationship. The untenable relationship forced Rose to go out on loan.
Mourinho’s exodus unfortunately won’t provide Rose with another chance at Spurs. He is out of contract in a month, so his long, mostly fruitful career — aside from a tumultuous last year at the club thanks to Mourinho’s bellicose character — will come to an anti-climactic end.
Eric Dier and/or Davinson Sanchez
I’m at a loss for trying to figure out what happened to both Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez. Both centre backs unravelled this season like a slinky going down stairs. Committing more mistakes than the local weatherman, it’s hard to conceive of either rebounding to restore the club’s faith in them.
Though it might be impossible to sell both centre backs. One of the hardest positions to replace, Spurs cannot sell both without first replacing them with experienced, wily, respected marshals. Finding someone that fits the mold is no easy task.
Dier, who is 27 years old, is said to be worth about £20 million on the open market. Sanchez is 24 years old and could be still garner about £26 million. The club, if they cannot offload both, a likely outcome, have a big decision to make. Although forever fluid and constantly changing, Spurs currently would be better served selling Dier, hopefully to Roma so he can reunite with Jose.
Joe Hart
As a wily veteran, I’m sure he had a motivational impact on the lads in the locker room. At least I hope he did, as there was no other tangible benefit to signing the past-his-prime keeper. So long Mr. Hart.
His current unofficial market value is a bag of balls. That might be a bit harsh, as Transfermarkt believes Spurs could earn just over a million pounds by unloading him.