Tottenham Hotspur suffered a defensive nightmare on Saturday afternoon, falling to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United.
St James’ Park has become a rather unhappy hunting ground for Tottenham and fans won’t be looking forward to Tyneside trips any time soon.
We have become so used to seeing Micky van de Ven turn in exceptional performances, but this was possibly his worst display in a Spurs shirt.
Alexander Isak ran Van de Ven ragged on his way to scoring a brace in Newcastle’s 4-0 victory.
Tottenham shouldn’t be too worried about Van de Ven himself but Ange Postecoglou may need to look at tweaking his defensive approach a little.
Spurs don’t need to completely rip up the back line but more depth may be wanted this summer.
Radu Dragusin arrived in January but needs time to settle in England, meaning a defender with more Premier League experience could be on the wish list.
Tottenham chase Tosin Adarabioyo
Reports just a few days ago suggested that Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo would be open to making the move to Tottenham this summer.
Adarabioyo is out of contract this summer and has so far shown no sign of signing an extension.
The 6ft 5in defender looks set to move for free and The Mirror now claim that Fulham are ‘resigned’ to losing Adarabioyo.
Fulham are understood to have offered Adarabioyo a ‘significant’ pay rise but he still hasn’t signed, leaving Fulham to believe that he will be on his way.
Tottenham are one of the main suitors in the race for Adarabioyo with the report adding that AC Milan and West Ham are also in the mix.
It’s added that whilst Liverpool have been linked with Adarabioyo, sources believe that a move to Anfield would be a ‘major surprise’ as things stand.
That leaves Tottenham in a decent position as the race for Adarabioyo’s signature intensifies, but there could be one problem.
Adarabioyo may be reluctant
Going for Adarabioyo makes sense.
The former Manchester City talent – praised for being ‘fast’ by Pep Guardiola – is tall, fast, homegrown and still has untapped potential at 26.
Add in that Adarabioyo is a free agent and he just seems to tick so many boxes for Tottenham.
The problem is that Tottenham already have Van de Ven, Dragusin and Cristian Romero battling for two spots in Ange Postecoglou’s back four.
Would Adarabioyo trade being a first-choice centre back at Fulham – and snubbing a similar role at West Ham – in order to become third or fourth choice at Tottenham?
European football could appeal if Tottenham can secure it, but Adarabioyo spent so long in the shadows at City and could hardly be blamed for prioritising first-team action in his next move.