Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a fine window thus far, but the persisting issue remains that the Harry Kane money remains unspent…
Who could Spurs sign before the deadline?
Daniel Levy has had his critics over the years for his notorious frugality, often leading to long, drawn-out transfer sagas where they miss out on targets due to their unwillingness to spend.
There have been lapses in this staunch nature, but the Lilywhites have remained a largely profitable club that were fortunate enough to be taken on a special journey up the table by Mauricio Pochettino.
However, one of the sore points of his tenure, and a rare moment of financial miscalculation, saw the Argentinian boss unload a club-record £63m fee to sign Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon back in 2019.
Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon)
£63m
Richarlison (Everton)
£60m
Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis)
£55m
Cristian Romero (Atalanta)
£42m
James Maddison (Leicester City)
£40m
All transfer fees via Sky Sports
The Frenchman has since failed spectacularly to live up to such a lofty price tag, with his future looking increasingly uncertain as the Friday deadline day approaches.
Therefore, perhaps Ange Postecoglou could seek to secure his replacement, finally dipping into their huge transfer war chest and unloading the reported £50m price tag to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea.
Read the latest Tottenham transfer news HERE…
After all, their reported interest in the England international is longstanding, and he would likely provide everything that the Galatasaray-linked Ndombele has failed to.
What's happened to Ndombele at Spurs?
When first signed, Ndombele was billed as a silky playmaker from deep, with quick feet and an elegant play style that fans would swiftly fall in love with. However, that play style seemed to immediately desolve into laziness, to which pundit Alan Hutton lambasted him: "It’s attitude. He was very lazy, he wasn’t doing much at all.
“When you get taken off, you know it’s because you’ve not played well. He’ll know within himself he’s not played well. So get off the pitch as quickly as possible, you’re down 1-0, get someone else on who can maybe make a difference. For the fans to boo, then he slows down, takes his time and runs straight down the tunnel. It’s not good enough.
“It shows you it’s petulant, it’s a bad attitude, it’s not what you want moving forward. Conte won’t stand for that. It annoys me because I know there’s a really exceptional player in there."
Unfortunately, Spurs have not been treated to those qualities promised, despite having posted eight goal contributions in Ligue 1 from defensive midfield in his final year before moving to north London. He has since made just 91 appearances for the club across his four years there.
As such, Gallagher could well be the final nail in the coffin as far as the Frenchman's Spurs career is concerned.
How good is Conor Gallagher?
Gallagher would immediately mark an upgrade on the 26-year-old, with his energy and attacking impetus almost assured.
After all, he was lauded for the former by The Athletic's Mike Stavrou: "Conor Gallagher was absolutely relentless with his pressing and energy tonight. Some player Chelsea have got."
His finest campaign to date actually came during his loan spell with Crystal Palace, as the midfield maestro scored eight and assisted three to break onto the Premier League scene. Now, he is surely ready for an elongated spell at the top of the table, whether that be with Chelsea or Spurs.
Pundit Tony Cascarino has been particularly full of praise for the 23-year-old: "Conor Gallagher, who's an outstanding attacking midfielder that always looks like he's going to get a goal or make an assist. I like him because I don't think there's too many of his type around."
Perhaps he could now translate that aforementioned loan form to Postecoglou's free-flowing system, pushing out one of Levy's greatest failures in the process.
