Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange will be eating his words after making a confident statement to Spurs fans at the end of the January window.
There was hope that Tottenham’s injury situation would improve as Roberto De Zerbi prepares for his first game in charge, but the Lilywhites have been hit with some bad news over the last 24 hours.
Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback in his recovery, with the Tottenham winger out for the foreseeable future and potentially even requiring surgery.
Some Spurs fans fear that Kudus’ injury may relegate the club, especially given that the team has looked short of ideas in the final third for much of the season.
Johan Lange’s statement about Tottenham’s January business now looks appalling
Tottenham fans were not too happy with the club’s January business, with the Lilywhites failing to strengthen their attack in the winter despite their issues in creating chances and scoring goals.
The North London club decided against adding a winger to their squad even though they sold Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace early in the window and lost Mohammed Kudus to an injury just a few days after the Welsh international’s departure.
Following the closure of the January window, Johan Lange explained to Tottenham fans that the club expected their injured players to return soon, which is why they chose against panic buying in January.
When asked why Spurs did not show intent in the winter transfer window, the Dane said: “It is for a number of reasons. First, a lot of our injured players will return this season, hopefully a number of them quite shortly.”
Looking back, that appears to be a poor judgment call, and the club’s inaction in January has left De Zerbi with very few attacking resources as he attempts to keep Spurs in the Premier League.
Johan Lange’s position at Spurs is under threat
The decisions that Lange and Tottenham’s CEO, Vinai Venkatesham, have made this season have been scrutinised a lot, with the Igor Tudor appointment turning out to be a big misstep.
There are also question marks over their decisions to appoint Thomas Frank last summer, and those decisions cost one man his job.
That is according to journalist Ben Jacobs, who revealed that Lange’s position at Tottenham is under ‘significant threat’ this summer.