Opinion: Tottenham’s biggest mistake of the season came in January

Tottenham Hotspur have done remarkably well this season, all things considered, as they have battled against stadium delays, a lack of transfers, and mounting injury lists.

Unfortunately, injuries are an aspect of the game that clubs have little control over, short of maintaining fitness and managing rehabilitation.

Despite reaching their first ever Champions League semi-final last month, Tottenham were unable to field their best central midfielders due to injury.

Harry Winks had just undergone groin surgery, and Moussa Sissoko had only just made it back in time to make the bench.

The likes of Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier have also had stop-start seasons this year due to various illnesses and injury problems.

If only Tottenham had one extra body in their ranks to provide cover, class, and experience.

Spurs haven’t bought a single player in around 15 months, but they still took the decision back in January to sell Mousa Dembele, rather than letting him leave on a free in the summer.

Dembele had been a permanent fixture in Pochettino’s midfield since the Argentine took over five years ago, albeit with injury problems of his own.

In hindsight, keeping Mousa on and managing his game time would have helped Tottenham in the long run.

Imagine if Spurs had been able to field Dembele against Ajax, or in any of the recent losses in the Premier League.

He had his problems with game time, but Dembele was a prized asset at Spurs, and the club should have kept him on to play a bit part role and leave the club a hero.

Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Related Topics

Have something to tell us about this article? Let us know