The transfer exodus continues at Tottenham Hotspur, as does the speed of the movement. This time it’s the Ornacle himself, David Ornstein of The Athletic, who has the latest on Oliver Skipp’s situation:
Well, that was quick. There’d been rumors around a possible move by Monday’s opponent, Leicester City, for midfielder Oliver Skipp, but nothing concrete; however, that smoke has now very quickly materialized into something much more solid.
One of Spurs’ academy graduates, Skippy was once described by Jose Mourinho as a future Tottenham captain. In recent years, though, things haven’t gone to plan for the all-action midfielder: after struggling for playing time under Antonio Conte, he did initially look to be a key part of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham revolution, before he quickly saw his minutes dwindle as Pape Matar Sarr usurped him in the pecking order. By the end of last season, he was struggling to see the pitch at all.
Let’s be real: though Skipp has played with effort and passion, his ability isn’t up to scratch in terms of what Spurs need. His ability on the ball as well as his pace can be lacking, and those are both attributes Ange values hugely, and arguably are traits needed for a side challenging up near the top end of the table. With that in mind, Leicester is probably a good destination for Skipp; somewhere we he can really cement his place in a squad looking to push for Premier League survival and more. Premier League starter, albeit for a bottom half club, is still an admirable standard to achieve!
I’m sure more details will filter through as to the details of the deal; my thinking is it’ll be somewhere in the £20 million region. Expect this to go quickly now - as Ornstein mentions in his piece, the medical has been booked and other sources have said Skipp has said his goodbyes to his teammates.
Farewell, Skippy - it wasn’t to be at Spurs, but I’m sure you will give your all for Leicester.