Chadder View: Tottenham must strengthen three key areas in January to fulfil top-four aspirations
Matthew Chadder is a lifelong Tottenham fan who grew up just down the road from his beloved club in North London. He’s now putting his passion for Spurs into words with a daily fan view for Tottenham News…
It is time for Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to dust the chequebook off and prepare for what should be a busy January.
When it comes to the transfer market, we just never know what Tottenham are going to do. Quite often, we do nothing, or at least not enough, but sometimes we will surprise everyone and go and sign a James Maddison or Brennan Johnson.
What we do know, is that when it comes to the upcoming transfer window, Tottenham cannot afford to do nothing. If no signings are made in January, it would once again represent a huge step backwards for the club after so many positive ones in a forward direction this season.
Ange Postecoglou has worked miracles this year. It might seem hard to imagine now, but at the beginning of the season, we were nowhere near a top-four race. If you had asked most pundits, they would have perhaps suggested we would even be lucky with a top-six finish.
Fast forward to December, had it not been for a rather large injury and suspension crisis, Spurs would be comfortably walking into the top four and would arguably even be in a title race.
With that said, we are still only six points off the top of the Premier League, and with some smart business in January, could throw our hat back in the ring. So where do I think we need to strengthen in January? Well, that part is easy, Tottenham need a new central defender, creative midfielder and striker – and I know I write this at the risk of sounding like a broken record.
Our need for a left-footed centre-back is quite apparent, although Ben Davies has done an incredibly impressive job filling in for Micky van de Ven. However, long-term, we need more depth, and ideally, someone who can also cover at left-back.
Our need for a striker is glaringly obvious. Richarlison is finding some form, but the jury is still out when it comes to the Brazillian, and Son Heung-min won’t be around forever. While this isn’t the biggest priority in January, getting it done now would certainly strengthen our title and top-four credentials.
What is most important for now is a new creative midfielder. Fans keep saying we need a midfielder, and while that is true, we don’t just need any old midfielder, we need a player who can cover for James Maddison.
That should be priority number one. Our defence has shown it can cope without van de Ven, hopefully in smaller bursts going forward, but lacklustre performances going forward against the likes of West Ham and Wolves suggest that we need a bit more creativity from midfield.
Giovani Lo Celso can be good on his day, but he too is rarely available, and with no timeline on Maddison’s return, or guarantee that he can remain fit for the rest of the season, we need someone else who can do his role.
It might be asking a lot, but it is Christmas after all, and if we can get all three gifts on my wishlist, the rewards come May could be immense.
In other Tottenham news, a doctor has posted a positive update on one Spurs player post-surgery.