Where they are now? A look at Spurs’ failed top summer transfer targets

Silly season will soon be upon us and as is customary, we expect the usual dose of ludicrous clickbait whilst our glorious leader, as we have come to expect, will give us nothing to suggest that any deals are forthcoming. The last transfer window treated us to intriguing Chairman vs Chairman battles, never seen before early business done deals and we even managed to keep our key man away from the greedy hands of our perennial tormentors.

The more things change, the more they stay the same and in true Spurs fashion, we continued to miss out on our top targets as their heads were turned by more money and the prospect of more glory. We examine how our failed transfer targets are faring and what could have been.

Morgan Schneiderlin. Tipped as the solution to Spurs’ defensive woes, the Lord Protector of the backline and commander of the press was head and shoulders the best tackler and ball winner in the Premier League for the past 3 seasons. As Pochettino’s Spurs courted him, the inevitable happened, he wanted Champions League football. His destination was clear: Arsenal or Manchester and as the latter flexed their considerable financial muscle or perhaps pushed the transfer panic button, Spurs pulled another Poch classic and promoted Eric Dier to midfield. A regular fixture in the United bench he will now be hoping for starts in the competition he primarily desired to avoid. At the moment, Dembele is ranked 7th in the list of top EPL tacklers. If necessity is the mother of invention, then Pochettino is indeed the biological father.

Saido Berahino. Subject of the most epic boss battle since Alex Ferguson versus Florentino Perez. Saido entertained and enraged supporters in equal measure. He clearly wanted to leave, and still does, as revealed by his twitter exploits, even stating that he would never play for Peace again. 8 starts, 4 sub appearances, 3 goals and probably third in West Brom’s striking pecking order, he clearly has seen better days and I bet he cannot wait to leave his current employers.

Antony Martial. He fit Tottenham’s remit of young, talented players who are keen to develop. Whether to Spell Kane or play the Jay Rodriguez role, he would have been an instant hit at WHL. After a failed bid, he was eventually signed for a seemingly stupid money price to make him the most expensive teenager of all time. He has quickly established himself as a shining light in an otherwise dull team. In his stead, Spurs signed Clinton N’Jie and Heung Min Son. The jury is still out on whether 2 is better than the 1.

Danny Ings. Signed for Liverpool on a free after Spurs had launched a late 12 million bid for his services (in an effort to probably troll Brendan Rodgers). Currently out for the season with an ACL injury, he is one of a considerable number of strikers battling for a starting place at Liverpool and will be competing against Sturridge, Benteke, Origi and Firmino in the pecking order. Good luck with that Danny.

Christian Benteke. Spurs had multiple bids rejected. Signs for stupid money elsewhere. Primarily starts on the bench. Classic case scenario.

James McCarthy. Tottenham moved to acquire McCarthy’s services after missing out on Schneiderlin but found the Toffees in a foul mood as far as transfers go. In the midst of wadding off Chelsea for another of their young stars, Martinez put a not for sale sign on everything he could find. McCarthy continues to be a key member of the Everton midfield.

While other players were linked, we aren’t certain that actual bids were made. Notably: Charlie Austin, Michy Batshuayi, Timo Werner, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Breel Embolo, Adrien Rabiot, Yohann Cabaye, Sven Bender, Christoph Kramer, Jordan Veretout, Mario Suarez, Kevin Mirallas, Victor Moses, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Xherdan Shaqiri, Mohamed Salah, Andriy Yarmolenko and Victor Wanyama.

With the benefit of hindsight, could we have done better with our transfer business?