The media, when it comes to Spurs, generally has its head in a tizzy, all a dither. The trouble is that Tottenham’s meteoric rise under Harry Redknapp has raised expectations – allowed the news to be subverted in a certain way and given credence to outlets who wish to tout extremist stories. I can’t be the only one tired of hearing that if Spurs don’t earn qualification for next season’s Champion’s League they’ll have to ship off their best players. Are we honestly supposed to believe that Spurs’ financial situation is such that if they finish fifth rather than fourth in the League it’s goodbye to the likes of Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric?
Daniel Levy and Harry Redknapp’s main aim this summer is sure to be to keep hold of Tottenham’s best players. Given the size of Tottenham’s squad and the fact that Harry will be looking to bring in a world-class striker this summer (something that’s likely to be costly) there will be players who find themselves transferred out of the club. These players won’t be Spurs’ top performers, however. They’ll be the fringe players and it’s unlikely that too many Tottenham fans will lose sleep over their absence.
With this in mind, who needs to go and how much money can Tottenham expect to garner in return for their sales? Harry is an expert when it comes to the transfer market (I hope he wouldn’t mind me saying that) and will make sure that his club gets the best deals possible. Players’ worths here are estimates – feel free to remonstrate with me if you feel I’ve over or under-valued a player.
First up there’s right-back Alan Hutton. It’s pretty likely that he’ll leave this summer – if the tales of his dressing-room bust-ups with Harry Redknapp have any veracity. Despite starting the season well injuries and his attitude have seen him frozen out. He remains a decent enough player and one that should get Spurs £5-6m this summer should he move on.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
Despite Tottenham’s well documented struggles upfront, there’s no room at the club for Robbie Keane who’s currently on loan at West Ham. I expect he’ll be moved on permanently this summer. He’s a natural goal-scorer who has proven himself in the Premier League. Spurs should be able to get about £5-7m for his services – particularly if he starts playing regularly for West Ham before the end of the season. Another striker seeking more first team action is Roman Pavlyuchenko who could fetch Spurs anything between £9-12m should he leave.
As for the midfield, a particularly crowded area for Tottenham, I expect to see Jermaine Jenas, Giovani dos Santos, Jamie O’Hara and David Bentley move on. Jenas isn’t getting enough games at Tottenham and will likely seek out first team football elsewhere – I’d value him at around £4-6m. Giovani dos Santos is currently on loan at Racing Santander where he’s performing well. There’s every chance that Racing will look to keep him or another team will take him on. Given his youth (21-years-old) and his ability I’d say he’s worth at least £9-10m.
Jamie O’Hara’s currently on loan at Wolves with a view to making the deal permanent. He too has been performing well for Wolves and it’s highly likely that they’ll look to keep him on should they stay clear of the drop-zone. I imagine Spurs will demand something in the region of £3-4m for the 24-year-old. David Bentley arrived at Tottenham with a massive price-tag: £15m. At this stage, however, Spurs would be willing to take a massive loss to get rid of the winger, who’s currently on loan at Birmingham City. I expect that they’d be willing to sell Bentley for anything between £5-7m.
That may seem like a large list of players, but as many of them are already loaned to other clubs and most of them don’t play on a regular basis, their sales wouldn’t represent too much of a loss. The revenue they would bring in however would be useful in Harry’s pursuit of players to help him challenge at the top of the table. It’s win-win for both the players and the club.
Read more of Harry’s articles at ThisIsFutbol.com
[divider]
Listen to the first episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and Toploader’s Dan Hipgrave makes a special appearance!