Fabio Paratici has four gettable targets to improve Spurs defence

[wirE]

To save people clicking into a Daily Express link the 4 mentioned are Skriniar, Joachim Andersen, Nikola Milenkovic and Merih Demiral.

Skriniar I believe is very unlikely. If we sell Kane then it's possible but I believe we'll be looking for value.

Andersen seems a good bet and I know nothing of the other 2.

Aren't Inter skint on cash nowadays?

 

[dontcallme]

Aren't Inter skint on cash nowadays?

Don't know, but that doesn't make us a likely destination.

 

[wirE]

Don't know, but that doesn't make us a likely destination.

but it doesn't make us an unlikely one

 

[yankspurs]

I agree, both have massive potential, esp Tanganga. Just shocked we kept giving Dier so many games last season when we could have developed one of these guys. But playing a pretty old Toby now while these guys learn around him isn't ideal. Let's hope they learn fast. It's important we sign a leader, not just great players. One reason why a Boateng on a short term deal wouldn't be terrible. Seems to still have his legs, moreso than Toby

We really should be looking at Boateng if its at all feasible he’d come here(probably not since we dont have CL to offer & he might ask massive wages). Its a free transfer & a good way to improve the back 4 without having to spend on transfer fees for 2 CB’s. Boateng & Milenkovic/Andersen would be good, provided we can sell Dier or Sanchez.

 

[dontcallme]

but it doesn't make us an unlikely one

I don't know much about him but from what I can see he is highly rated center back, coming into his prime who has just won the title in Serie A.

Given that we are on a down period right now and we're looking for an overhaul I believe we won't be looking at a player who will cost as much as him and even if we did it is likely that other clubs, more attractive than us, will come in for him.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I think we know those defenders are not what we will end up with.

I think Anderson is a very realistic signing. I'm not convinced he has a higher ceiling than Rodon or Tanganga, who are both younger, but he's good on the ball and comfortable playing LCB.

 

[shelfboy68]

I think Anderson is a very realistic signing. I'm not convinced he has a higher ceiling than Rodon or Tanganga, who are both younger, but he's good on the ball and comfortable playing LCB.

Yes I think he is realistic

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I agree, both have massive potential, esp Tanganga. Just shocked we kept giving Dier so many games last season when we could have developed one of these guys. But playing a pretty old Toby now while these guys learn around him isn't ideal. Let's hope they learn fast. It's important we sign a leader, not just great players. One reason why a Boateng on a short term deal wouldn't be terrible. Seems to still have his legs, moreso than Toby

Toby has only just turned 32. I think his perceived decline is primarily due to a decline in our ability to defend as a team and a decline in the quality of defensive players around him.
If one player is out of position / loses a marker / presses at the wrong moment, it forces the other defenders to compensate and leaves gaps for the opposition to capitalise on. This can make even the best of CBs look iffy at times, with detailed analysis of defensive errors often required to confirm that the player who initially appears to be at fault wasn't at all.

Vertonghen (pre-head injury), Rose, Walker/Trippier, Wanyama/Dier (at CDM) were all defensively superior to our current team. Dembele was also defensively better than any of Winks, Lo Celso or Ndombele.

Despite Hojbjerg having a very good season and Ndombele being much improved, our midfield is still a bit unbalanced and lacking compared to our rivals for top 4.
Reguilon is very good offensively but (despite rarely being criticised for it on SC) makes far more errors than Aurier (criticised by SC for every minor error he makes) or Rose ever did. I would compare his errors to Kyle Walker when he was a similar age. I'm confident Reguilon will rapidly improve, but we should be planning for an experienced LCB to play next to him (irrespective of whether we play with a back 4 or 5).

 

[Freddie]

Toby has only just turned 32. I think his perceived decline is primarily due to a decline in our ability to defend as a team and a decline in the quality of defensive players around him.
If one player is out of position / loses a marker / presses at the wrong moment, it forces the other defenders to compensate and leaves gaps for the opposition to capitalise on. This can make even the best of CBs look iffy at times, with

Vertonghen (pre-head injury), Rose, Walker/Trippier, Wanyama/Dier (at CDM) were all defensively superior to our current team. Dembele was also defensively better than any of Winks, Lo Celso or Ndombele.

Despite Hojbjerg having a very good season and Ndombele being much improved, our midfield is still a bit unbalanced and lacking compared to our rivals for top 4.
Reguilon is very good offensively but (despite rarely being criticised for it on SC) makes far more errors than Aurier (criticised by SC for every minor error he makes) or Rose ever did. I would compare his errors to Kyle Walker when he was a similar age. I'm confident Reguilon will rapidly improve, but we should be planning for an experienced LCB to play next to him (irrespective of whether we play with a back 4 or 5).

You might very well be right, even though Toby seemed a liability himself at times, but that could obviously be related to the aforementioned chaos around.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

You might very well be right, even though Toby seemed a liability himself at times, but that could obviously be related to the aforementioned chaos around.

Just noticed I posted with one sentence only half typed (doh!), regarding poor defending as a team making a good CB look worse than they are. I have edited previous my post.

I'm not confident myself that Toby is still as good as the player we signed, but I do think he is still much better than we give him credit for and is well worth keeping around. His "decline" was first perceived when Walker left and Wanyama got crocked (both happened close together), with people commenting that he had lost a yard of pace, when I'm fairly certain he had always been just as slow - but had previously been pulled out of position less often, because the players around him were defensively better. He was only 28 at the time, so theoretically in his physical prime...not many players who aren't exceptionally quick in the first place suddenly lose a yard of pace at that age, unless they have a serious injury (he did not). I recall talk of him getting "back to form" somewhere around 2018, but then the talk of him being "past it" restarted after Dembele left (not coincidentally, we looked worse in and out of possession the moment he was sold in Jan 2019) and got louder after Jan's head injury (the club shouldn't have let him play him during the 2019-20 season).

Even if Toby isn't being made to look bad by the team around him, last season every other defender in the squad made more errors per 90 minutes than him (I have no stats to support that, but it appeared very evident to me), so he's the last player we should be replacing when our defence is our primary concern.

 

[yid-down-under]

I am probably contradicting myself here but I believe Rodon and Tanganga have excellent potential and with the right players alongside them could perform well this season.

It would be great if Alderweireld could lead the back for one more season. If not, maybe a Skriniar is what we need.

personally I’d shift Toby along side Sanchez and Dier as they are all as bad as each other. Imo it appears that Toby is a toxic influence. He backed rose after his public outburst And only signed a new contract once Poch left.

 

[Japhet]

Toby has only just turned 32. I think his perceived decline is primarily due to a decline in our ability to defend as a team and a decline in the quality of defensive players around him.
If one player is out of position / loses a marker / presses at the wrong moment, it forces the other defenders to compensate and leaves gaps for the opposition to capitalise on. This can make even the best of CBs look iffy at times, with detailed analysis of defensive errors often required to confirm that the player who initially appears to be at fault wasn't at all.

Vertonghen (pre-head injury), Rose, Walker/Trippier, Wanyama/Dier (at CDM) were all defensively superior to our current team. Dembele was also defensively better than any of Winks, Lo Celso or Ndombele.

Despite Hojbjerg having a very good season and Ndombele being much improved, our midfield is still a bit unbalanced and lacking compared to our rivals for top 4.
Reguilon is very good offensively but (despite rarely being criticised for it on SC) makes far more errors than Aurier (criticised by SC for every minor error he makes) or Rose ever did. I would compare his errors to Kyle Walker when he was a similar age. I'm confident Reguilon will rapidly improve, but we should be planning for an experienced LCB to play next to him (irrespective of whether we play with a back 4 or 5).

I don't think there's a single CB on our books who wouldn't be better either in a back 3, or in a 2 with a dedicated holding DM in front of them, preferably in a CM3. Hojbjerg, for some unknown reason, wasn't really deployed like this, with the role often being given to Winks. As you say, 1 player gets pulled out of position and chaos ensues which to me smacks of a complete lack of coaching. 3 at the back spreads the load and also frees up out wingbacks (because they are wingbacks, not fullbacks) to do their thing. Fonseca is apparently quite fond of this setup so I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.

 

[dontcallme]

personally I’d shift Toby along side Sanchez and Dier as they are all as bad as each other. Imo it appears that Toby is a toxic influence. He backed rose after his public outburst And only signed a new contract once Poch left.

I really don't think any of that adds up to a toxic influence. As people, we really need to be wary of forming opinions on people's characters based on hearsay information when we're removed from the situation.

Backing a team mate is not a sign of a bad character, especially one with mental health issues. He was a consistent performer for us and considered captain material until his contract fuck up. After that he had a bad relationship with Poch so it is understandable that he wasn't interested in signing with us while Poch was still here. Why would that even make him a bad character?

 

[Nerine]

Better than forgettable, I spose

bollocks. I was just going to quip on that, you utter bastard!

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I don't think there's a single CB on our books who wouldn't be better either in a back 3, or in a 2 with a dedicated holding DM in front of them, preferably in a CM3. Hojbjerg, for some unknown reason, wasn't really deployed like this, with the role often being given to Winks. As you say, 1 player gets pulled out of position and chaos ensues which to me smacks of a complete lack of coaching. 3 at the back spreads the load and also frees up out wingbacks (because they are wingbacks, not fullbacks) to do their thing. Fonseca is apparently quite fond of this setup so I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.

Hojbjerg has never been a true holding CDM, but would be more effective in this role than Winks. He's probably best suited to playing in a CM 3 (with Lo Celso & Ndombele should be very viable) or in a double pivot with another CM who works hard and can defend.

EDIT:
Freeing up our wing-backs would benefit all of Reguilon, Aurier, Doherty (and Sessegnon) greatly. Davies wouldn't be a good fit for LWB, but would be a decent option at LCB.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Yes I think he is realistic

Why not what we'll end up with then? We'd be a significant step up from his current club and are unlikely to be priced out (unlike for some of the other reported CBs).

 

[shelfboy68]

Why not what we'll end up with then? We'd be a significant step up from his current club and are unlikely to be priced out (unlike for some of the other reported CBs).

I was referring to the others we was linked with for 40m etc that isn't realistic.

 

[TheChosenOne]

Official | Real Madrid CF

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I was referring to the others we was linked with for 40m etc that isn't realistic.

I always just assume we'll get the worst/cheapest player from a rumoured list of targets. It's only when we get none of them, or no-one at all in that position, that I'm left disappointed.

 

[mawspurs]

Official | Real Madrid CF

eh?