Tottenham Hotspur are taking their own time to secure the summer targets, while most of their competitors are well on their way. The North-London side definitely has one of the complete sides in the league, which justifies their reluctance though. The Lilywhites have, however, been linked with numerous names, which more than anything reveals the areas that they need strengthening.
The latest name to join the list is Sporting CP midfielder, Adrien Silva, as Pochettino looks to add more quality to the squad’s spine. The 28-year-old Portuguese international has been one of Sporting’s main players last season bringing in a significant discipline to their midfield over the years.
Mauricio Pochettino will have to show some real intent in the Champions League next term, after failing to make any kind of impression whatsoever in the past two seasons. And the primary priority for that would be to beef up their ineffective bench. With Spurs having to play midweek games in regular intervals, fatigue plays a crucial role.
And their terrible away form also remains a huge concern for the Argentine. Out of the four away trips Spurs had last season in both Champions League and Europa League, they could manage only one win against CSKA Moscow. While their sizzling displays in the domestic campaign kept them in the title race till the second last week, they were still behind Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in the away league table.
Tottenham need some consistent performers to provide the much-needed cushion in front of the back line, which role was perfectly taken by Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier last season. Silva’s experience could be a huge advantage for Tottenham in the midfield. Since making his debut for Portugal’s national team back in 2014, Silva has been capped 16 times and he played an important role in Portugal’s Euro 2016 campaign.
An academy product of Ligue 1 side Bordeaux, Sporting CP took him back in 2001 when he wasn’t even 15. It took him seven years to break into the first team, and although at 20, he didn’t see regular first team then, few impressive loan stints with Israeli side Maccabi Haifa and second tier Portuguese side Académica Coimbra, he returned as an established player.
He has since played around 200 games for the Portuguese side, scoring 38 goals and assisting 19 times, and winning seven domestic titles in the process. It would be difficult to lure a homebred player from the club, but Tottenham would expect their £26.5million bid would be enough.
Tottenham had a wonderful experience from their last Sporting CP import, Eric Dier, and would be expecting Silva to be a success at Wembley next season.
