Tottenham Hotspur have had an up-and-down start to the season which has delighted and frustrated Spurs fans in equal measure.
On their day, Tottenham are a joy to watch, as was the case when they tore Manchester United apart at their own stadium.
Spurs have also shown some great resolve to bounce back from losing positions or going a man down, like they did against Coventry, Brentford and Qarabag.
However, Tottenham have also been guilty of spurning far too many chances and of being shaky at the back in several games.
Spurs’ loss to Brighton & Hove Albion was a particularly bitter pill to swallow, as they led 2-0 but went on to lose 3-2.
While Ange Postecoglou will need to look at how to shape his troops on the p itch, there’s also scope for Tottenham to make some more signings in January.
Alasdair Gold has now given his thoughts on what the “perfect” signing would be for the Lilywhites in the January transfer window.
Alasdair Gold says Tottenham need a Micky van de Ven ‘clone’
Gold, writing on football.london, said he feels the left side of Tottenham’s defence remains their main deficiency.
He noted how Ben Davies “does not suit Postecoglou’s inverted full-back position”, while his expiring contract suggests his future could lie elsewhere.
In addition, Gold noted how Djed Spence has been filling in at left-back to cover Destiny Udogie outside of the Europa League, while Sergio Reguilon is not in Postecoglou’s long-term plans.
“In an ideal world, the perfect signing in January would be a fleet-footed left-sided centre-back, who can also play as a Postecoglou left-back if required,” wrote Gold.
“That way they can bring the pace required from at least one covering defender with the Australian’s high line and also their versatility would prevent the need to try to crowbar further players into the Europa League squad – if Spurs progress to the knockout stages – while taking others out.
“In essence, the north London club need to clone Micky van de Ven. Even if they can do that, to put him in the Europa League would still require someone to drop out.
“Postecoglou will already have discussed the various scenarios with technical director Johan Lange and head of scouting Robert Mackenzie. All eyes will be on January and what they decide.”
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Potential U-turn on the cards for Tottenham
Tottenham certainly could have done with bolstering their defensive ranks further in the summer.
Postecoglou said at the time that he didn’t want to impede the pathways of Luka Vuskovic and Ashley Phillips.
While that’s fair enough, it’s clear that Spurs need reinforcements in the short term, so there’s a good chance a U-turn could be on the cards.
Vuskovic and Phillips won’t be in the picture until next season at least, and they’ll need some time to develop.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are having issues at the back that’s costing them points, so this is something they should rectify in January.
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