WiganSpur
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 16,010
- 32,750
I think you've got to look at it in terms of what problems need solving.
The first I think is at centre back. Toby and Vertonghen are world class and there is no immediate issue there but when they are out we struggle. I don't think Wimmer is a bad CB and personally I would probably keep hold of him, but Poch does not seem to trust him. We have also seen a succession of very poor displays from Dier who really needs to buck his ideas up if he's going to cement his place in the team. CCV needs patience yet, and he also struggled against League 2 opposition in the cup.
To solve this I think we should bring in a solid centre back, pushing Dier forward into solely a midfield role. This will help with our squad depth there.
The next issue is at left back when Rose is out. I don't think Davies is a poor full back, far from it in fact, but he isn't suited to do what is being asked of him. He doesn't have that explosiveness that you need. For this reason the kid Sessegnon should be our number one priority. The boy looks like he's got everything.
Another issue is further poor squad depth in attacking areas. Questions remain over Lamela, and the longer this mess goes on the more likely I think he will leave in the summer. There's been no new contract and a few worrying signs about his injury. Secondly Sissoko is clearly not the type of player we are looking for and needs to go to raise some funds.
Son's inconsistency is highly frustrating. I wouldn't exactly be raging if he were to leave for a big fee but i'd be happy to keep him as a squad player as he can offer goals on his day.
Nkoudou is another that Pochettino doesn't seem to trust. It seems like he was just a punt, a gamble to see if he would somehow turn out to be the new Mane. It doesn't seem to have worked. From admittedly what little I have seen of him, I don't think he's set the world on fire.
For this reason I think another wide player could be needed. I know we've been linked to Bruma but I don't know a great deal about him. Even Demarai Gray could be an option there if Leicester are playing Championship football next season.
Again another issue with squad depth is an over reliance on Eriksen. We don't have anyone like him, especially if Lamela does indeed leave us. Isco is a pipedream so I would probably go for Max Meyer who is running into his final year I think. Maybe Thomas Lemar could also be a clever signing if Lamela and Sissoko both leave, being left footed. In addition we definitely need to find a place in the squad for Edwards next season.
Janssen looks unfortunately finished upfront also. Whether we will keep him or not I don't know, but regardless of whether he stays or not we need a striker. We need a threat in behind and also someone to give competition for Kane. Iheanacho would be perfect if we could get him, but there's other options from Lacazette to Plea at Nice maybe? Maybe we could find a Premier League loan for Janssen in the hope that he can pick up confidence in this league.
Finally the least of our priorities is CM. Someone top class would be nice but there are other priorities and I don't think we'd have the money to do it. We'll have Dier, Wanyama, Dembele and Winks which is not too bad, but I think we should take a punt on someone young that can operate as cover, and also prevent Dier and Wanyama from ever being a pairing again. Ronaldo Vieira from Leeds maybe?
The squad needs a lot of work, but if we are serious about winning silverware then we need to do it, because at the moment when we get even one injury it starts to look like an uphill task. It would be very helpful if we could make at least some of these changes, but I appreciate that doing everything is probably unrealistic.
