Tottenham Hotspur have been accused of not improving their starting eleven despite spending huge amounts this transfer window.
Spurs are close to shattering the all-time Premier League spending record in a single window, with the Lilywhites’ total spending now nearing £400m.
That is why many neutrals took a lot of delight in seeing the Lilywhites dismantled by Brentford on the opening day of the season.
Roberto De Zerbi confessed that the loss on Saturday is a wake-up call for his side, but is confident Spurs will be a dangerous team once they get together.
| Tottenham net spend | Fee |
|---|---|
| Incomings | |
| Andrew Robertson | Free |
| Marcos Senesi | Free |
| Martin Dubravka | Free |
| Jan Paul van Hecke | £52m |
| Mateus Fernandes | £85m |
| Sandro Tonali | £100m |
| Savinho | £85m |
| Omar Marmoush | £60m |
| Total spent | £382m |
| Outgoings | |
| Luka Vuskovic | £50m |
| Will Lankshear | £20m |
| Radu Drăgușin | £21m |
| Alejo Veliz | £7.7m |
| Alfie Devine | £6m |
| Tynan Thompson | £8m |
| Manor Solomon | £7m |
| Cristian Romero | £34.1m |
| Ashley Phillips | £20m |
| Djed Spence | £30m |
| Total received | £204.2m |
| Tottenham’s net spend | £177.8m |
Charlie Austin says no Premier League team fears Tottenham any longer
Last week, Troy Deeney accused Spurs of having got weaker despite their spending huge funds this summer.
Charlie Austin has now suggested something similar, insisting that he saw no improvement from Tottenham in the first game of the season at Gtech Community Stadium.
The former Southampton striker told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily: “There were problems all over the pitch. They just looked like the same old Tottenham. As much as they have spent the money, I just don’t see the return from it. They don’t strike fear into teams any more. Put it this way: teams want to play against Tottenham to win.
“You feared playing Tottenham years ago because they had Harry Kane down the middle, now I would ask you to find me someone who is going to put the scares up you. There’s nobody that does that.
“People say they don’t have a leader, but they have Andy Robertson at left-back who has won every trophy there is going, so there are leaders in that team. You also have Sandro Tonali, who didn’t score any goals for Newcastle United last season. I’m all for paying £100m for a player if they got 15 or more goals and assists from central midfield, but he didn’t.”
Austin says 29-year-old is not the answer for Roberto De Zerbi’s side
A couple of days ago, Jamie O’Hara insisted that Richarlison should not play for Tottenham again after De Zerbi chose the Brazilian to lead the line.
Austin has also seen enough evidence to be confident that the former Everton man is not the answer for the Lilywhites upfront.
He added: “I’ve said for the past two years that you can never replace Harry Kane, but what you can try to do is try to put someone down the middle who is going to put the ball in the back of the net – and Richarlison is not that person.”
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