The Daily ITK Discussion Thread 1st January 2019

[cookiemonster]

Daniel Levy do not have the courage to spend 70m on one player

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Find it interesting that JJ tweeted the NDombele # as a comparison to the "club record transfer fee" instead of just saying "over 80 mill". If Spurs are using the "club record transfer fee" as a guide to future transfers, there is no way we are getting an impact player that can get into the lineup we have. 40 mill today most likely doesn't get a player that starts for us - more likely a rotation guy that would help but not push to the next level. Pulisic would be an example - he would contribute if he came here but I don't know that he would walk into the starting eleven.

It's possible he meant 'club record fee we paid for Chris Armstrong'. In which case, 2 x £4.5m looks affordable. We should go for it

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

So does this mean we’ve enquired about him?

Probably. The answer was “fuck off”. That’s what 80 million quid translates to when you’re us

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

It's possible he meant 'club record fee we paid for Chris Armstrong'. In which case, 2 x £4.5m looks affordable. We should go for it

Don’t be stupid.

We’d need to sell GNK, Dembele, Llorente and Vorm first to make room in the squad

 

[rajmak]

If someone was going to pay £1-2bn (Not much difference btw...) I doubt very much that they wouldn't then invest further, because they would only depreciate their initial outlay if we went backwards with no investment.

And I think this is the concern. I believe at the end of this season we are at a big crossroads. Do we have what it takes to keep Poch (and our top players)? Is the additional revenue the new stadium brings in going to help with paying for incoming transfers (debt in consideration) or will be continue to spend only what we sell?

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Don’t be stupid.

We’d need to sell GNK, Dembele, Llorente and Vorm first to make room in the squad

Oh yeah, sorry

 

[ikky]

I remember when he was available a few years ago at a price we could easily afford ( 10-15m ) but according to itk ( I believe it was JJ ) we had reservations because he had a tendency to over play or lose the ball in dangerous positions ( outside our box ). If true that we passed up on him, what a terrible call that was.

 

[Joely]

What are those options? If we start to stump up we'll always be 2,3 or 4 steps behind!! Levy has to decide now where he wants the club to go!! My hunch is that he's happy to just rake in the dosh as long as we qualify for the CL!

Likes of Sander Berge etc. I'd love for us to get an Ndombele but it isn't happening under ENIC imo, especially considering the cost of the stadium and ENIC approaching the endgame imo.

Only chance of an Ndombele type signing happening is if we sell a big player, i.e Kane, Alli, Son or Eriksen etc. Or if we sell a couple of others for decent fees and put it towards Ndombele. With Eriksen holding off on signing a new contract, it may not be totally beyond the realms of possibility with the issue then competing with other teams who would be interested in Ndombele.

 

[RichieS]

Probably. The answer was “fuck off”. That’s what 80 million quid translates to when you’re us

I know I'm pissing in the wind here, but £80m is a "fuck off" price for pretty much anyone. 8 transfers in history have involved an £80m+ fee (and 2 of those were Cristiano Ronaldo). We're also talking about proven, indisputably world class players attracting that sort of fee. Ndombele isn't near that yet.

 

[DCSPUR]

Sander Berge was flagged by Herc as an option right?
Seems to be the type of player/ price/ profile for us.
And if we can flog a few of those in the shop window would be a net zero window

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

I know I'm pissing in the wind here, but £80m is a "fuck off" price for pretty much anyone. 8 transfers in history have involved an £80m+ fee (and 2 of those were Cristiano Ronaldo). We're also talking about proven, indisputably world class players attracting that sort of fee. Ndombele isn't near that yet.

Oh, I agree generally with your reckless pissing. I don’t think anyone is paying 80 million; I think the message here is that only the wealthiest clubs need make enquires. The rest of the riff raff can kindly fuck off. I can see him probably going for a Pulisic type fee, or maybe just north of that. But it won’t be to us

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

Sander Berge was flagged by Herc as an option right?
Seems to be the type of player/ price/ profile for us.
And if we can flog a few of those in the shop window would be a net zero window

Yeah, he’s been mentioned. He’s essentially a DM who’s mobile and decent at passing. And he’s a tank, a physical presence. Get rammed between him and Sissoko and you’re shitting out your spleen for weeks to come

 

[RichieS]

Oh, I agree generally with your reckless pissing. I don’t think anyone is paying 80 million; I think the message here is that only the wealthiest clubs need make enquires. The rest of the riff raff can kindly fuck off. I can see him probably going for a Pulisic type fee, or maybe just north of that. But it won’t be to us

I await the rainbows for this one, but I think if he can be got for Pulisic type money then we'd be in there as far as the fee goes (if indeed we really want him). The issue then becomes wages, which is where we've usually got stuck in the past. Would he be worth the same salary as Dele? Son? Hugo? He and his agent may believe he is (given the potential fee) - personally I'm not so sure.

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

Daniel Levy do not have the courage to spend 70m on one player

Its time to be Brave!

 

[Joely]

Regardless of ENIC not paying that kind of fee, I do believe £70-80m for Ndombele is too high at the moment. Liverpool signed Naby Keita, a similar type of midfielder and similar age for £50m odd. Think the price quoted for Ndombele is a January price i.e They really don't want to lose him mid-season what with them still being in the CL and if someone wants him now, they pay a premium. In the summer it may be a different story unless he pushes onto another level on the pitch between then and now.

 

[thefierycamel]

Regardless of ENIC not paying that kind of fee, I do believe £70-80m for Ndombele is too high at the moment. Liverpool signed Naby Keita, a similar type of midfielder and similar age for £50m odd. Think the price quoted for Ndombele is a January price i.e They really don't want to lose him mid-season what with them still being in the CL and if someone wants him now, they pay a premium. In the summer it may be a different story unless he pushes onto another level on the pitch between then and now.

From the very little that I've seen of both of those players, I'd say Ndombele is much better, at least in terms of talent and maturity.

 

[Joely]

From the very little that I've seen of both of those players, I'd say Ndombele is much better, at least in terms of talent and maturity.

Think could argue a case for him being better but not sure about much/£30m better. Keita was very good in the season before Liverpool agreed a deal for in the summer of 2017 and still settling in the prem.

 

[LukaMotion]

The problem with the concept that, as Liverpool have done with Van Dijk and Allison, spending a massive sum of money on players that are seemingly the last pieces of the puzzle will guarantee success is that it's not always the case.

For every successful big money spend in the premier league there is also a Bakayoko, Di Maria or, dare I say it, Soldado. Yes, Poch can identify the players he wants to sign that he believes will elevate us to the next level of challenging consistently for titles, but it's ultimately down to Levy to decide whether the money can be justified given the risk that signing the player carries. The higher the transfer fee, the bigger the inevitable risk of not recouping that fee if the player flops.

Levy is not the sort of owner who will pull the trigger on signing players if the risk/reward scenario isn't in the clubs favour, that has always been the case, frustratingly so at times when the fans would like to see signings and the manager would like to be backed. It's also the policy that has seen us grow from an average premier league club to one on the cusp of fighting for the biggest trophies in world football, season after season, so I can understand why Levy might be reluctant to break the habit of a lifetime and splash the cash now.

 

[Joely]

Also been mentioned (not sure how much truth is in it) that Amiens will be due 20% of any profit Lyon make if they sell Ndombele so another reason why Lyon will be asking for a substantial amount.

 

[Shanks]

Instead of invest £70m in the first place, what about investing in the right scouting network to enable us to sign these players before their fees grow?
When was the time we actually signed a young not known player (except Dele) who turned out to be very good?
There are players out there if your scouting network is working well.

Spurs already do this, as do all premier league clubs, although it’s not news worthy as they are kids.

The challenge is, only very few children go to the very top of the game compared to the 100’s and thousands of kids playing academy football.

My sons friend, was bought by one of the top premier league clubs last season at the age of 14. Not only a ridiculous fee for a kid, but family also looked after.This happens at Spurs too, the geographical area clubs can scout players from expands as they go through the years, so clubs bring players in from all over the world all the time.
GRGanted itbdoeant have n immediate impact on the first team, but the project at spurs isn’t aimed on short term success, it’s aimed at long term longetivity and success, hence the not so immediate results.