A Caulker of a Deal?

I have to admit, I greeted the news of Tottenham possibly signing Vlad Chiriches with enthusiasm when the news first broke a few days ago. There were numerous reports of him being a replica of Jan Vertonghen so the idea of bringing him to the Lane sounded quite intelligent, despite the fact we would have both of them, Kaboul, Daws and Caulker. Now it looks like the Chiriches deal has broken down and we have gone ahead and sold Caulker to Cardiff which shocked me a great deal.

I will say that I will miss Caulker in a Spurs shirt. He seemed an intelligent and solid defender and a thoroughly top professional on and off the pitch for us despite being such a young age. There was talk of him being a future club Captain for Spurs so I have the question the necessity of selling him when the Chiriches deal has collapsed and Jan and Younes are still unfit for the first game of the season. Caulker filled in admirably for us whenever he could last season and seemed to pose an attacking threat from set plays which we have been lacking for years from defenders which was always useful for a team in our position to have. It saddens me that we have let him go despite cultivating him and nurturing him since youth team level. Spells on loan at Yeovil, Bristol City and especially Swansea the season before last seemed to all point to the fact that Steven had talent and the potential to be a first choice centre half for us and even for England in the future. I’m not saying this transfer spells the end of the road for his England career as I believe he will prove to be one of the shrewdest acquisitions of the summer and I wholeheartedly congratulate Cardiff on picking him up now as I believe his value could inflate higher over the coming years if he puts in the performances he did for us and when he was on loan at other teams.

It now remains the fact to take whatever positives out of this deal that I can. Firstly, the fee involved is in excess of £8million which is a pretty good deal for Spurs if you look at the fact he was probably 4th choice centre half between Jan, Daws and Younes so getting a sizeable transfer fee for a current fringe/rotational player does represent good value at this point in time. I suppose we could use this money to pressure Steaua Bucharest into agreeing a deal for Chiriches so we won’t be short of cover in defence and we could use the remaining money to help strengthen elsewhere. From Caulker’s viewpoint, this move probably represents a good option for him as well. He often spoke of his deep affection for Spurs but the fact was that he still wouldn’t be a first choice defender this season for us and he is coming to the age where he needs to start playing regular football for a club. Going to Cardiff could be a very good move because he will stand out as a top player for a newly promoted club and he has the prestige of being their current club record signing so he can use this motivation to kick on with his club and international aspirations.

Overall, this deal is probably the right thing to do even though I still feel great sadness that it has gone through. I would personally like to thank Steven Caulker for his tireless dedication to the club and his determination to make his way in the Spurs setup. It has worked out well for both the club and the player as Spurs have gotten a significant transfer fee for a player who can currently be easily replaced whereas Caulker will be involved far more strongly in the first team setup at Cardiff than he probably ever would have at Spurs and he can use the chance to impress and cement his reputation as a potential future England star.

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