In the press conference before today’s Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford game, there was a short answer from head coach Angelo Postecoglou about the remainder of the January transfer window, which I somehow missed when reading it. In short – if you’re a Spurs fan expecting fireworks on transfer deadline day tomorrow, you might be disappointed.
Postecoglou admitted that, at least as far as upcoming transfers are concerned, Tottenham’s deal is very likely done.
“Look, unlikely, I would say. I don’t see any arrivals. Departures are a little bit different because I’m not fully involved in that, other people are doing the work around that. I would say it’s unlikely in both areas, without ruling anything out.”
This is not entirely surprising news. The Spurs made their arrivals – Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin – quickly, as Big Ange wanted extra time to help them acclimatise when the Spurs were expected to have several players out due to injuries and international commitments. This left plenty of time for “targets of opportunity”. With hardly anyone buying (or selling) this month and the Antonio Nus deal apparently collapsing, I would be surprised if the Spurs brought anyone in today or tomorrow on transfer deadline day.
I find Big Angel’s answer about the departures a bit ridiculous, only because it seems to imply that he is not fully involved in deciding who will leave the club. That probably does him some harm – he would undoubtedly have the final say or significant input if a first team player left either on loan or permanently. And we may see some departures: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has already said he is staying, there is talk of a possible loan move of Bryan Gil to Brighton, and some U21 players could go on development loans before the window closes.
But as far as fireworks are concerned, barring a Rafa van der Vaart-style bonus buy, I think it’s very likely that Spurs will stay put. A quiet transfer deadline day. Tottenham Hotspur. Under the leadership of Daniel Levy. Is that ALLOWED?