Tony Cascarino has named the Arsenal player Tottenham Hotspur need to sign their own version of in the summer transfer window if they want to make any progress next season.
Spurs have had a promising first campaign under Ange Postecoglou, with the side leading the way in the Premier League in the opening weeks of the season, and playing a lot of the best football on show in the division.
The second-half of the campaign has been a lot less impressive, with teams exploiting Tottenham’s flaws, particularly when they have lost a number of players to injury.
A fifth-place finish – should they avoid defeat on the final day – is a reasonable return, but clearly, the hope will be that the squad can improve over the summer and step up again next year.
Tottenham need to find their own Declan Rice
Yves Bissouma is one player who has come in for some criticism in recent times and could leave the club this summer. And speaking on The Game Football Podcast, Tony Cascarino believes that it is absolutely imperative that Tottenham mirror what their North London rivals did last summer.
“They don’t have enough in midfield, for me, and if you’re going to play that high risk, high line, you have to have ball winners in midfield that dominate the play, because if you can’t stop the pass, you’re in trouble. And we’ve seen that at the end of the season,” he said.
“The Liverpool game, which I was at, was eye-catching in the fact that every time a Liverpool player got the ball and they got his head up, Tottenham were exploited, and it happened so often, and that’s been a bit of a common theme towards the end of the season.
“So I’d be interested in what areas of the pitch he reinforces, but I would clearly look at the midfield. I think you have to have a Rodri, a Rice, someone who’s going to dictate the play, rob the opposition of the ball often. If they don’t get that, I think Tottenham’s style will be flawed again next season.”
Spurs need to make a statement this summer
Of course, signing a Rodri or Declan Rice is much easier said than done, with Arsenal having to smash their transfer record to land the latter last year.
But many Tottenham fans will agree that signing someone who elevates their midfield is so important, as it frees up the rest of the team to play the style which has won so many admirers.
Tottenham clearly have a lot of potential under Postecoglou. And if they are a little more lucky with injuries and able to make the right signings, then something special could happen in North London.