Tottenham cannot afford to replicate Kyle Walker mistake
Tottenham cannot endure a downgrade at left back
Fans and pundits alike praised Tottenham for selling Kyle Walker for a massive transfer fee this summer and then purchasing an alleged upgrade in Serge Aurier. Time has proven that to be a false narrative. Spurs cannot afford to make the same mistake again with Danny Rose.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, you’re aware of Manchester United’s strong interest in the English left back. Jose Mourinho’s club were only emboldened when Rose went public with his “concerns” about Tottenham’s lack of transfer ambition this summer. The talented left back has recently come back into the Spurs team after a long injury layoff, but rumours of his unhappiness with the club seem to grow by the day.
As a result, various reports have popped up linking Tottenham to various left backs all across Europe. It stands to reason that Spurs would need to purchase a replacement for Rose if he is sold in January or even in the summer. Pochettino prefers to rotate his fullbacks and Rose’s departure would leave Ben Davies as the only natural left back in the senior squad.
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The simple truth is that Tottenham need to learn from their mistake with Walker. In selling him to Manchester City they strengthened a Premier League rival. Walker isn’t the reason Pep Guardiola’s squad are steamrolling the league, but he is a contributing factor. Such a move is only acceptable if you can manage to secure an upgrade at the position.
Aurier may yet prove to be capable of filling Walker’s shoes, but he’s been a clear downgrade in the short-term. Spurs were able to profit financially from the switch, but the quality of the squad suffered. That is not an acceptable result for a club with Tottenham’s level of ambition.
Fortunately, there does seem to be at least one palatable outcome if Rose is sold. Pochettino’s club continue to express strong interest in Fulham starlet Ryan Sessegnon. The 17-year-old prodigy recently became the first player of his age to score a hat trick in the Championship since Dele Alli. That’s a pretty good act to follow for the English youngster.
Prying him away from Fulham won’t be easy. The Championship club desperately want to keep hold of their most talented player, but if they can’t achieve Premier League promotion they’ll likely be forced to part with him. It’s believed that a transfer bid of somewhere in the vicinity of £30 million might be enough to get the deal done.
Next: Pochettino is misusing his fullbacks
Spurs can’t afford to quibble with Fulham over the fee. Acquiring Sessegnon is the only reasonable way to make the sale of Danny Rose acceptable. If Tottenham, instead, end up with someone like Luke Shaw to fill Rose’s shoes it will prove Daniel Levy hasn’t learned from his mistakes. If Spurs sell Danny Rose then Ryan Sessegnon has to be coming in to replace him. Anything less would be wholly unacceptable.