- Dec 22, 2005
- 2,553
- 2,569
Pretty, pretty, pretttttttttyyyy good. Going into the window we probably needed a centre back, a striker and an attacking mid. We then lost Walker and Wimmer, so we needed a right back and an additional centre back.
We got the centre back, Davinson Sanchez. I'm not going to pretend I've seen a huge amount of him, but what I have seen of him has been very impressive. He is pretty much the textbook Pochettino signing - a young player who is is already good enough to start, but has huge scope for improvement. He also offers the pace we lack in the defence, which should be a big plus. If things go according to plan, he is both the present and the future of our club.
We got the striker, Fernando Llorente. Is he the ideal signing? Probably not - he's ageing and he's not very mobile. But he's a good player, he scores goals, he knows the league and he's happy to play a squad role. He might not be an exciting signing, but he could be just what we need.
We replaced Walker with Serge Aurier. The transfer is done now, so there is no point focusing on whether or not we should have signed him on a moral basis. What we do know is that he's a very good full back in the Walker mould, and we've got him for a knockdown price. From a purely football point of view, as long as he gets his head down and doesn't disrupt the team spirit, it could be a very good signing indeed.
We replaced Wimmer (and/or Carter-Vickers) with Juan Foyth. Literally no idea about him, but he's been signed for the future and, with four centre backs in front of him and a team capable of playing with three or four at the back, if he isn't immediately up to scratch then it shouldn't cause us any hassle. A calculated punt on potential.
We also signed Paulo Gazzaniga, who will presumably take Lopez's place as the insurance policy - if Lloris gets injured we have Vorm, if he gets injured then you would hope that Whiteman would get a go, but if they don't see enough in Whiteman yet, then we've got a more experienced, cheap option there if needed.
So all we missed out on is the attacking midfielder. Is it a big miss? Depends. We have two attacking midfield roles to fill, and currently have Eriksen, Alli and Son to fill them, which isn't really enough over a potential sixty game season But we do also have Lamela at least on the horizon, and while he's been out a very long time, we have to remember just how well he was playing before the injury. We also have Nkoudou as a limited but potentially effective pace option and Sissoko who, dog shit as he was last year, hasn't done terribly since the summer.
So yeah...it wasn't perfect, and with only one attacking addition - and a 32 year old at that - it wasn't very exciting. But I think the squad as a whole has been significantly improved. We should be reasonably happy. We're no longer in a position where an injury to any one of three or four players will completely derail our season.
We got the centre back, Davinson Sanchez. I'm not going to pretend I've seen a huge amount of him, but what I have seen of him has been very impressive. He is pretty much the textbook Pochettino signing - a young player who is is already good enough to start, but has huge scope for improvement. He also offers the pace we lack in the defence, which should be a big plus. If things go according to plan, he is both the present and the future of our club.
We got the striker, Fernando Llorente. Is he the ideal signing? Probably not - he's ageing and he's not very mobile. But he's a good player, he scores goals, he knows the league and he's happy to play a squad role. He might not be an exciting signing, but he could be just what we need.
We replaced Walker with Serge Aurier. The transfer is done now, so there is no point focusing on whether or not we should have signed him on a moral basis. What we do know is that he's a very good full back in the Walker mould, and we've got him for a knockdown price. From a purely football point of view, as long as he gets his head down and doesn't disrupt the team spirit, it could be a very good signing indeed.
We replaced Wimmer (and/or Carter-Vickers) with Juan Foyth. Literally no idea about him, but he's been signed for the future and, with four centre backs in front of him and a team capable of playing with three or four at the back, if he isn't immediately up to scratch then it shouldn't cause us any hassle. A calculated punt on potential.
We also signed Paulo Gazzaniga, who will presumably take Lopez's place as the insurance policy - if Lloris gets injured we have Vorm, if he gets injured then you would hope that Whiteman would get a go, but if they don't see enough in Whiteman yet, then we've got a more experienced, cheap option there if needed.
So all we missed out on is the attacking midfielder. Is it a big miss? Depends. We have two attacking midfield roles to fill, and currently have Eriksen, Alli and Son to fill them, which isn't really enough over a potential sixty game season But we do also have Lamela at least on the horizon, and while he's been out a very long time, we have to remember just how well he was playing before the injury. We also have Nkoudou as a limited but potentially effective pace option and Sissoko who, dog shit as he was last year, hasn't done terribly since the summer.
So yeah...it wasn't perfect, and with only one attacking addition - and a 32 year old at that - it wasn't very exciting. But I think the squad as a whole has been significantly improved. We should be reasonably happy. We're no longer in a position where an injury to any one of three or four players will completely derail our season.