Tottenham Hotspur transfer window could have been a lot worse

Whether you are a glass-half-full or half-empty kind of person, you are likely not completely satisfied with the Tottenham Hotspur transfer window, well it could have been a lot worse. 

Tottenham Hotspur did neither filled all the holes in the team nor did the Spurs move all of their deadwood. However, in hindsight, regardless of how you feel about the success or lack thereof from the summer 2021 transfer window, things could have been a whole lot worse for Tottenham Hotspur.

When the transfer window started

The transfer window actually opened back on June 9. At that time the landscape for Tottenham Hotspur was quite different as the Euro 2020 tournament had not even begun. More relevant for Spurs, the team had neither a head coach nor a new director of football. Even worse, the story of the summer was that a team’s homegrown legend was going to leave and we are not talking about Leo Messi.

Throughout the Euros and well on into the summer and into the season, Sky Sports and others were beating the drum of the Harry Kane to Manchester City move. At the time it seemed almost a certainty that Kane was going to be leaving Tottenham. In the end, Kane has stayed and that is a significant win for Tottenham Hotspur.

However, Kane staying was not the only significant returning player move this summer. In July, Heung-Min Son gave the fans a pre-season present when he signed a new deal keeping him a Spur until 2025.

The club had been trying for over a year to sign Son to an extension and at times it seemed possible it might not happen. Sonny re-upping with Tottenham and his continued love for the club helped fans even when it looked like we might lose Harry Kane.

So before we really start to break down the success or not of this transfer window, we need to remember Son and Kane are both at Tottenham and committed to the cause. They are not new signings but things could have gone in a very different direction.

The alternative for Tottenham would have been a nightmare

Right now, some fans are upset that the Spurs did not replace the goal contributions from Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius who combined for 26 goals and 7 assists in all competitions. Now imagine for a second that not only did the Spurs not replace those players they also lost Harry Kane. Even worse, Heung-Min Son see’s the writing on the wall and refuses to sign a new deal, meaning he is free to negotiate a future contract in January.

And while Tottenham did not get direct replacements for Bale or Vinicius, they also secured the future of the two most important players on the team who combined for 49 goals and 30 assists in all competitions. There will be time and space to critique this transfer window, both good and bad as well as the incoming and outgoing deals. However, as Spurs fans, we need to remember despite some shortcomings, the window could have been a whole lot worse.