This summer, Tottenham became the first Premier League club ever to fail to make a single new signing in the transfer window.
However, this may be a blessing in disguise, because, as football fans know, not every big money buy fulfils his true potentials.
We take a look at five Tottenham signings who never realised their full potential in a white shirt in recent years.
Etienne Capoue
The mysterious case of Etienne Capoue. The French midfielder signed for Tottenham in August 2013 for £9.3m, making his debut only three days later.
Capoue initially looked like a brick wall in front of Spurs’ defence, intercepting passes, crunching into challenges, and distributing the ball perfectly.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Frenchman never seemed to kick on from his fast start, despite clearly lacking all the attributes needed.
He only managed 24 League games during his two seasons in North London, scoring just the one goal.
Capoue transferred away from the club in 2015, joining newly promoted Watford for around £6.3m.
Once again, the midfielder hit the ground running, looking like an instant world-beater in a struggling Watford side.
At the beginning of his second season in the yellow jersey, Capoue netted four goals in his first six matches, including an opener in a 3-1 win at home to united, and another in a 4-1 comeback against West Ham.
Everything that Capoue had never quite managed to do for Tottenham was slotting into place with ease at Watford.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
