Life at Tottenham Hotspur has been good for Ange Postecoglou so far. The Australians got off to a great start to the season, temporarily leading the Premier League, but after a dip in form in November, they are back in contention.
All eyes are now likely to be on whether Spurs will sign any players in the January transfer window, but what about the players who could be heading for the exit door? The future of several first-teamers is up in the air and Tottenham could be able to extract a good fee for some of them.
In midfield, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was announced to be leaving the club in the summer but stayed and has been a regular on the Spurs bench so far this season. Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr are heading to the African Cup of Nations in January, so it would be wise for Hojberg to stay, but with the 28-year-old only 18 months left on his current contract, speculation about his future is set to increase.
Hojbjerg currently has a market value of around £27.7 million according to Transfermarkt, but Spurs should consider whether that amount is worth losing the experienced Dane at a time when they are short in midfield.
One player who could also leave is goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who had hoped to leave the club in the summer but a new transfer has materialised. The Frenchman has watched games from the stands in the last years of his career and will be keen to move on in the New Year. The veteran is likely to receive a token compensation in this window if a club can be found to buy him, although leaving makes sense for all parties involved.
The possibility of Eric Dier leaving the club is also not ruled out, although the central defender returned to the squad in November due to an injury to Micky Van de Ven. Dier would probably receive a decently high transfer fee if he were to leave, as his current market value is estimated at around £15.5 million.
Dier’s contract expires in the summer and at one point Bayern Munich were interested in him, eventually signing Spurs captain Harry Kane for £100 million.
Ivan Perisic may have played his last game for Tottenham as he is expected to be out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury sustained in training in September. There are suggestions that the Croatian could return to boyhood club Hajduk Split in January.
If Ryan Sessegnon also leaves, they could make some money. The defender had thigh muscle surgery in the summer and is behind Destini Udogie and Ben Davies on the list of players to watch. A departure in the new year would allow Sessegnon to get back on track and, with his value around £15.5 million, could also bring some useful capital to the club.