Tottenham Hotspurs have been very inconsistent so far this season. While they have dominated against the smaller clubs, the outcomes against the bigger clubs have not been entirely favorable. While they managed to get the better of Manchester City, they drew Arsenal and Liverpool and lost to Chelsea and Manchester United. If you want to challenge for the title, defeating the big clubs is as essential as dominating against the smaller ones. And somehow, Mauricio Pochettino’s men have failed in that aspect.
Against the smaller clubs, they have plundered in goal after goal, but the goals dried up once they were up against the big clubs. This has resulted in the Spurs taking the fifth position in the Premier League. New arrivals in the summer promised better performances but the Spurs’ moderate success has been largely due to efforts of stars like Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son.
Under the circumstances, Pochettino believes that reinforcements in attack would help his team achieve the desired goal. Reports have emerged that the London-based club are interested in signing Everton’s Ross Barkley and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha. Tottenham already have Alli and Eriksen to play the position in which Barkley plays in. They also have established wingers in Eric Lamela, Moussa Sissoko, and Son. This poses the question, do Spurs really need Barkley and Alli in the winter?
Now, Barkley is in the last 18 months of his contract and it might be tempting to sign the 24-year-old talented youngster. However, Eriksen is firing on all fronts playing the role of the attacking midfielder. Even Alli, who burst onto the scene last year, is just 20 years old and has already shown a lot of promise playing in a similar position. While Pochettino has successfully managed to incorporate both Alli and Eriksen in the first team, Barkley’s addition would only give more headaches as to how to fit him in the line-up.
Barkley is no doubt a talented player and will be one of England’s top players in the next couple of seasons. He has scored twice and assisted twice in the league so far. On the other hand, Alli has four goals to his name and one assist while Eriksen has five goals and four assists. Bringing in the Everton man only makes sense if one of Alli or Eriksen leaves, which again is unlikely.
Crystal Palace’s Zaha, however, could be a perfect addition to the Spurs line-up. The team does need something more in the attack when facing the tougher opponents and Zaha could provide that. The former Manchester United winger has already proved to be the driving force in the Palace line-up scoring three goals and assisting six times.
Moreover, Zaha is the Premier League most successful dribbler this season above the likes of Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez amongst others, completing 71 dribbles. He has averaged 4.7 dribbles per 90 minutes and has caused a flurry among the opposition defenders. Tottenham’s options on the wings are limited to Sissoko, Lamela, and Son. Both Sissoko and Lamela have been a shadow of their former selves which has seen Eriksen often been deployed to the flanks. With Pochettino keen on adding a creative attack minded midfielder to his side, Zaha could be the ideal candidate.
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