Ange Postecoglou has been at Spurs for close to 18 months now, and has made some pretty brilliant signings during that time, but what about the transfers he missed out on?
Since last summer, Postecoglou has brought in the likes of James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, and Micky van de Ven, all of whom have become key players in the Spurs first-team.
All those transfers happened as the result of decisions in the transfer market, with other options left behind to join other clubs instead. So, let’s take a look at the players Postecoglou opted not to sign for Spurs.
David Raya
Last summer, the top priority for Spurs was to replace Hugo Lloris and find a new number-one goalkeeper. For weeks, it seemed David Raya would be the man for the job, but Spurs eventually went for Guglielmo Vicario due to Brentford demanding too much for their Spanish stopper.
Raya would later join Arsenal and has now firmly established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. The Gunners upgraded on Aaron Ramsdale thanks to Raya, and while Vicario is a solid keeper, it’s hard not to feel like Spurs missed out with this one.
Jean-Clair Todibo
Another key area Spurs needed to work on last year was at centre-half, and Postecoglou eventually decided to bring in Micky van de Ven to partner Cristian Romero at the heart of defence. Suffice it to say, that was a great move.
The alternative at the time was Jean-Clair Todibo, but the Frenchman decided to stay with Nice for another year. He joined West Ham this summer, and has not made a great start to his time in London, making a number of mistakes and looking off the pace in the Premier League.
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Adam Wharton
In the January transfer window, Spurs were strongly linked with a move for Adam Wharton, who had been flourishing with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship. Crystal Palace managed to snap up the midfielder, and he very quickly proved he was more than ready for the step up to the Premier League.
Putting in a string of top performances as Palace thrived under Oliver Glasner at the end of last season, Wharton would eventually make it into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024. Spurs are well-stocked in midfield, but Wharton would have been a great addition to that roster.
Federico Chiesa
The saga surrounding Federico Chiesa over the summer was an odd one. Deemed surplus to requirements at Juventus, reports in Italy strongly suggested Tottenham were eager to sign the winger, but sources closer to home rubbished this.
The Italian went on to join Liverpool, but has played just 18 minutes of Premier League football so far for Arne Slot’s side and has barely even made the matchday squad this season. As it stands, Spurs really dodged a bullet with this one.
Ivan Toney
After trudging on for a year in the wake of Harry Kane’s departure, Spurs needed to sign a new striker this summer. Most of the reports out there suggested it was a toss-up between Ivan Toney and Dominic Solanke, and Postecoglou opted to sign the latter, insisting he was always the top target.
Solanke has made a decent start at Spurs, scoring three goals and impressing with his high work rate and intense pressing game. Toney, meanwhile, failed to secure a move to any of the big clubs in England, and ended up at Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli. He’s scoring goals, but the standard of football there means his reputation has taken a considerable dip.