Tottenham Hotspur have started the rebuild under Jose Mourinho, but the job is far from done in North London.
The Lilywhites made their Lo Celso deal permanent, signed Gedson Fernandes on loan, and bought Steven Bergwijn in the January window.
However, there are the four positions in which Spurs simply must strengthen in the summer:
Right-back
Spurs have needed a new one for years. Aurier doesn’t cut it defensively, Walker-Peters is out on loan, and there are no other natural options at the club. Levy needs to invest in a young new right-back who knows how to defend, but can also get up and down the wing. Perhaps Max Aarons, Nathan Ferguson, or Youcef Atal.
Left-back
Danny Rose is out on loan and coming to the end of his Spurs career with just a year to run from next summer. Ryan Sessegnon is still very raw and his true position is unclear. Ben Davies is a good defender but not one to get forward too often. When you look at the likes of Chilwell and Robertson at Leicester and Liverpool, Spurs are in need of this kind of dynamic player. The club need to invest to get back to where they were with Rose and Walker five years ago.
Centre-back
Vertonghen is out of contract in the summer. Alderweireld is over 30 and not quite as good as he was. Juan Foyth is struggling to make progress. The only stand out long-term options left are Davidson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga. Tottenham need to invest in a new young but experienced centre back, preferably a left-footed left-sided player. Nathan Ake springs to mind.
Striker
Harry Kane is too injury prone to be the only ‘out and out’ striker at the club. Spurs are seeing the errors of their ways this season and will surely move to sign a back-up option in the summer – in hindsight, the decision to release Fernando Llorente has proven to be a bad call. If they do not, then I fear Levy will never learn.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
