Tottenham look set to leave their transfer business late once again, which hasn’t come as a huge surprise to the club’s supporters.
Chairman Daniel Levy is renowned for attempting to strike late deals, and Mauricio Pochettino has claimed the club could sign as many as four players in the final few days of the transfer window, though he has also admitted they may sign no one.
With that in mind, we’ve had a look at all of the late deals Spurs have completed since Levy became chairman in 2001 and determined the five best and five worst.
Here they are.
Best
5. Mousa Dembele
Signed from: Fulham, Summer 2012
Fee: £15m
After arriving in England in 2010, Dembele had shown glimpses of his potential as an attacker in a Fulham shirt before dropping into a deeper midfield role at the beginning of the 2012/13 campaign.
An excellent performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford was enough to tempt Tottenham into making a move for the Belgian just before the summer deadline. Despite a degree of inconsistency, primarily caused by injuries, Dembele has been a joy to watch for Spurs, particularly under Pochettino, and is undisputedly one of the best centre-midfielders in the division.
4. Johnathan Woodgate
Signed from: Middlesbrough
When: 28th January 2008
Fee: £8m
Injuries plagued much of Woodgate’s time in north London, but he was eerily good when available, forming an impenetrable partnership with Ledley King – when both players were (rarely) fit.
Woodgate also scored the winning goal in Tottenham’s only recent trophy win, the League Cup success of 2008, and as a result will always be remembered for bringing a glimpse of success to an era bereft of silverware for the club.
3. Robbie Keane
Signed from: Leeds United
When: 31st August 2002
Fee: £7m
Spurs took advantage of Leeds United’s growing debt in 2002 and managed to nab Keane, who went on to become the defining player of the Martin Jol era at White Hart Lane.
The Irishman, who often captained the team in King’s absence, was then part of the League Cup-winning side of 2008 and formed one half of arguably the Premier League’s last great strike partnership with Dimitar Berbatov.
Tottenham would eventually sign Keane late in another window, but he wasn’t the same player upon his return from Liverpool in January 2009.
2. Dele Alli
Signed from: MK Dons
When: 2nd February 2015
Fee: £5m + loaned back to MK Dons
By the time Alli broke into Tottenham’s first team in the early stages of the 2015/16 season, the rest of England’s top clubs must have been kicking themselves for allowing Spurs to sign one of the country’s brightest young talents for just £5m.
Now 22, Alli still seems to be deciding what kind of player he wants to be. But his knack for scoring big goals in big games – see Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Real Madrid last term or Spurs’ first ever Premier League victory at Stamford Bridge – is evidence of his potential to one day go on to even bigger things.
1. Rafael van der Vaart
Signed from: Real Madrid
When: 1st September 2008
Fee: £8m
Aside from on-pitch drama, nothing quite matches that feeling of your side signing a bonafide star. That’s exactly what Spurs fans experienced when somehow Levy and Harry Redknapp lured Van der Vaart to White Hart Lane eight years ago.
The Dutchman turned out to be exactly what Tottenham needed for their debut Champions League campaign. His combination of experience and panache helped Redknapp’s men reach the quarter-finals.
A pair of dodgy hamstrings saw his influence diminish towards the end of his two-year spell at the club, but Van der Vaart remains a fan favourite and a fine example of how late transfer business can often be the best kind.
Worst
5. Georges-Kevin N’Koudou
Signed from: Marseille
When: 31st August 2016
Fee: £11m
Ever since arriving at Tottenham, Pochettino has been on a quest to add a pacy, tricky winger to his squad. It looks like he has now finally achieved that with Lucas Moura, but the season prior Pochettino experimented with N’Koudou.
It’s safe to say things didn’t work out. The 23-year-old failed to make an impact in irregular substitute appearances over 18 months and was eventually loaned to Burnley, where he continued to struggle.
N’Koudou remains a Spurs player, but perhaps not for much longer.
4. Fernando Llorente
Signed from: Swansea City
When: 1st September 2017
Fee: £12.1m
Llorente’s experience was often cited as the reason Tottenham brought him on deadline day last summer, but the 33-year-old often looked like a sheepish young striker during his debut season, scoring just five goals across all competitions and only once in the Premier League.
He was also expected to be used as a partner for Harry Kane when appropriate. That seldom happened, mainly because it didn’t work. A sale before the current window’s deadline wouldn’t be surprising.
3. Grzegorz Rasiak
Signed from: Derby County
When: 1st September 2005
Fee: £3m
Here’s a name that still comes up from time to time in Spurs circles, mostly when discussing the club’s worst-ever players.
Polish striker Rasiak made only eight appearances for Tottenham and didn’t score a single goal – Harry Kane he wasn’t.
2. Gilberto
Signed from: Hertha Berlin
When: 31st January 2008
Fee: £1.9m
If you want an indication of just how bad Brazilian left-back Gilberto was for Tottenham, look no further than the following statistic: he was substituted at half-time in three of his seven appearances for the club.
Does anything else need to be said? I suppose it’s worth noting that, despite his dreadful time at Spurs, Gilberto managed to get on the scoresheet in a 4-0 win over West Ham United. Every cloud.
1. Louis Saha / Ryan Nelsen
Signed from: Everton / Blackburn
When: 1st February 2012 / 2nd February 2012
Fee: Free transfers
Infamous among Spurs fans, this double swoop was indicative of the painful change of fortune Tottenham experienced midway through the 2011/12 season.
On the verge of a surprise title challenge, Harry Redknapp repeatedly claimed one more big signing in January would help the team push for silverware. Nothing of the sort materialised, and Levy ended up sanctioning moves for ageing duo Saha and Nelsen on deadline day.
Neither player was atrocious by any stretch, but they were both clearly past their best, and better alternatives may have prevented Spurs from slipping below Arsenal into fourth place (despite having a 13-point lead on their rivals at one stage) and surrendering a Champions League spot to said competition’s winners Chelsea.
Redknapp was sacked months later, while Saha and Nelsen failed to earn extensions to their initial six-month contracts.
The post The five best late Spurs signings made by Levy – and five worst appeared first on Squawka News.
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