Tottenham Hotspur are in need of a squad overhaul this summer, irrespective of whether or not Jose Mourinho remains in charge.
However, the reality is that the Portuguese is likely to keep his job given he’s one of the highest-paid managers in world football and remains under contract until 2023 without a break clause, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
A mega-money payout is probably the last thing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wants to do and you also have to consider the fact that much of this squad was inherited, so many of Mourinho’s problems have been lingering long before he arrived.
And as such, the Telegraph’s Matt Law believes a rebuild could happen at the end of the season, with many players facing an unlikely future…
You can only keep one at Spurs this summer, who do you pick?
Dele Alli
Harry Winks
Serge Aurier
Moussa Sissoko
Dele Alli
One name mentioned is, of course, Dele Alli.
The 24-year-old midfielder saw a move to Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain collapse in January and is still struggling for game time under Mourinho.
Indeed, Alli has played only 964 minutes in all competitions this campaign; an average of 43 minutes per outing, via Transfermarkt.
As a result of him festering away on the bench and often on the sideline, his overall transfer value has plummeted 71% in the space of two years, with CIES Football Observatory now rating his worth at just €30m (£26m).
Now Football Insider claim that PSG could come back in for him in the summer.
Alli certainly has a lot to prove after the international break, though his route into the starting XI looks rather difficult. Tanguy Ndombele is now a first-team regular, and Giovani Lo Celso has recently returned from injury.
It seems hard to imagine that his Spurs career is done for at just 24, but if he can make a point to Mourinho in training in the coming months, then who knows what can happen.
He’s certainly going to have to fight for his future in north London, if he wishes to remain.
Harry Winks
Another name mentioned by the Telegraph is Harry Winks, who has gone from a trusted and highly-rated marshall in midfield under Pochettino to a forgotten man.
He too has been linked with interest ahead of the summer transfer window – Sport (via Sport Witness) claim the 25-year-old will insist for a move this summer amid likely interest from La Liga.
It would be an interesting move to make as he was once dubbed England’s Andres Iniesta by the ex-Spurs boss.
“Harry has the profile of the perfect midfield player,” explained Pochettino to the Evening Standard. “His characteristics are perfect. When we talk about midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta, he’s like this type of player.”
However, Winks has played only 24 times this campaign, of which only seven appearances are starts in the Premier League. And just one of those has come since the middle of January, as per Transfermarkt.
And just like Alli, his value has sunk from £36m in December 2019 (Transfermarkt) to €30m (£26m) in March 2021 (CIES).
As a graduate from the Hotspur Way system, you’d imagine there is nothing he’d like more than to feature but again, just like Alli, he’s out of the England fold and may need to move onto pastures new.
He’ll have to make a big statement if given an opportunity to do so before the end of the season.
Serge Aurier
A third name mentioned by the report is Serge Aurier. Perhaps the most surprising, given his turnaround in form this season.
The £18m-rated defender looked set to be replaced in the summer when Spurs clinched Matt Doherty for £15m from Wolves but if anything, that only spurned the Ivorian on, as he’s often been preferred at right-back.
Darren Bent once lambasted Aurier as a “liability” whilst Mourinho was seen telling the former PSG man that he was afraid of his ‘poor’ defending during Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing‘ docuseries last year.
Maybe that still grates on his mind and with the £70k-per-week star soon-to-be entering the final year of his deal, it’s easy to see why he may be moved on.
He’ll need to keep performing at a higher level to Doherty in these coming months to remain in N17 for the long-term. He too must be playing for his Spurs future alongside Alli and Winks.
AND in other news, Imagine him & Rodon: Spurs can build defence for the future with £22.5m-rated “leader”…