Mauricio Pochettino will be a frustrated man this summer as even after getting the team to finish in the top-4 for two consecutive seasons, he will now have to make sure that the first team players stay at the club for years to come. While that is as hard as it is, Pochettino will also have to look at possible additions to his squad to help them compete at the highest level next season.
This has seen them linked with a number of players recently and one player constantly linked with a move to the club is Nice sensation Jean Michael-Seri. Also wanted by Barcelona and Arsenal, the Ivory Coast midfielder has been in terrific form in League 1 making 34 league appearances, picking up seven goals and nine assists throughout the season, helping his side to the Champions League next season.
Though the club president still wants to keep him at the club, he is valued at £30m and it is hard to see the French outfit reject any club ready to offer such amounts for the midfielder. So should Spurs spend on him this summer?
Capable of playing in a defensive role as well, Seri is a proper box-to-box midfielder who loves to sit back and dictate play. His passing and dribbling abilities allow him to create ample chances for his side while his ability to read the game only makes him a better midfielder.
Though not strong in the air, the 25-year old is effective going forward and could help Pochettino improve the creativity in his side. The likes of Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier are expected to keep their places as the deepest of the midfielders while Mousa Dembele played the role of a creator from the deep.
Harry Winks is currently the only backup for this role in the Spurs’ squad and Pochettino is already looking at options to add to this position. He may not want to spend insanely on a midfielder, as he is also looking to add a winger to his lineup and that is the only reason why they have to think twice about spending on Seri.
There are few options in the transfer market better than the Ivorian but none of them are any less expensive. Spurs are usually not afraid of spending big, but £30m for a player who has never played outside Portugal and France might be too big a risk to take. His quality is undoubted but it will up to the club to evaluate if he is actually worth his price tag, even in an inflated market like the current one.
