Merson blasts ‘atrocious’ Tottenham, tells Levy to replace inconsistent duo
Paul Merson has called on Daniel Levy to free up funds for Ange Postecoglou to add to his Tottenham squad before the transfer window shuts on Monday.
Spurs haven’t made a single outfield signing this winter. And while that does look set to change soon, fans are upset by how long it has taken to do major business with Postecoglou’s side sitting 15th in the Premier League and winning just one of their last 11 league fixtures.
Czech goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky has arrived permanently from Slavia Prague and settled well into life in North London. However, Postecoglou has major issues throughout his squad due to an extraordinary number of injuries and out of those who are fit, only a small handful are playing well.
And with the clock ticking towards the 11pm transfer deadline on Monday (3 February), Arsenal legend Merson has hit out at Spurs and urged Levy to splash the cash on strengthening the midfield.
“I’m being kind when I say Tottenham are struggling. They’ve been atrocious and it could get worse this weekend,” said Merson on the Sportskeeda website.
Bissouma and Sarr issues exposed at Tottenham
The former Arsenal player added: “Daniel Levy must look to invest in midfield for Tottenham.
“Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr have been very inconsistent and that’s where the main problem lies for them.
“I’m not saying Tottenham will get relegated, but they could be involved in a nasty fight at the bottom of the table.”
Bissouma, 28, has found himself in and out of Postecoglou’s plans this season.
Although he’s one of the few Spurs players to avoid major injury issues, he’s still only started 11 times in the Premier League and averaged just 57 minutes per appearance across his 17 league outings.
Sarr, 22, has been way more of an ever-present for Postecoglou.
He missed the win over Hoffenheim last week with a knock but other than that, he’s been fully fit for Tottenham, amassing 33 appearances across all competitions.
However, despite featuring in more Premier League games than Bissouma (23), he’s actually averaged fewer minutes per game (53).
Postecoglou clearly doesn’t fully trust the midfielder, which suggests Merson really is onto something.
| Premier League stats | Bissouma | Sarr |
| Starts | 11 | 15 |
| Minutes per appearance | 57 | 53 |
| WhoScored? average match rating | 6.49 | 6.54 |
| Tackles and interceptions per 90 (FBRef) | 4.18 | 3.80 |
| Challenges lost (FBRef) | 1.11 | 0.73 |
One of the biggest criticisms of Spurs this season has been their defensive fragility.
Despite being the third-highest scorers in the Premier League (46) after Liverpool (54) and Manchester City (47), Spurs have conceded 37 times, meaning only six teams have lost more goals than them.
Bissouma and Sarr aren’t two players who are constantly playing for Spurs. However, they’re seemingly not playing regularly because they’re not doing their jobs.
Postecoglou’s defence has been ravaged by injuries in recent months and while Archie Gray is doing well considering his age and the fact he’s not a centre-back, he and Radu Dragusin have hardly been helped by a midfield that’s simply failed to protect them this season.
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