4 Players Tottenham Hotspur Should Clear Out in 2016 Summer Transfer Window
High-profile news emanating from Tottenham Hotspur so far this off-season has been restricted to confirmation about their enforced upcoming change in venue.
The north London club announced on its official website that ongoing redevelopment work on White Hart Lane clashing with "UEFA requirements" means they will be playing UEFA Champions League games at Wembley Stadium in 2016-17. The season after will likely see them play all home games at the national stadium too as the final touches are hopefully put on their own new ground.
The following four players may not be around when Tottenham play their first competitive games at Wembley as the host team, their possible exits a likely consequence of manager Mauricio Pochettino's plans to refresh and strengthen his squad in the summer transfer window.
It will be hard for the Argentinian to bring to an end the stays of players who contributed to Spurs' best league campaign for 26 years. These talents' mix of hard-earned experience and potential could yet bring unforeseen rewards.
Yet in order to facilitate the chances that could take Spurs forward, such touch decisions need to be made.
Michel Vorm has provided the kind of adequate back-up to first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris Tottenham Hotspur hoped for when they signed him from Swansea City two years ago.
He made 14 appearances in his first year, starting all the games in Tottenham’s run to the Capital One Cup final. In 2015-16, he played seven times, though he was required just once in league play.
Vorm has unsurprisingly looked a little rusty on occasion given his infrequent playing time. But if Spurs keep the 32-year-old around, they will continue to have solid, international-experienced cover for their captain, Lloris.
Yet a parting of the ways may be best for both parties (a theme you will see develop throughout the remainder of this article).
There is something to be said for being in the squad of a contender for major honours such as Tottenham. But Vorm is more than good enough to be a starter for another top-flight club somewhere.
From the club’s perspective, they have young Luke McGee waiting in the wings.
The 20-year-old has been in and around the first-team squad for a while, working with his experienced team-mates and goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez on the training ground and on matchdays.
Last October, McGee was awarded a contract extension until 2019, an encouraging show of faith in him. And if Spurs believe in his potential, perhaps now is the time to move Vorm on and give the academy product his shot.
DeAndre Yedlin
DeAndre Yedlin’s first substantial Premier League experience ultimately turned into a happy one too.
Sent on loan to Sunderland last summer after making just one appearance at Tottenham following his transfer from Seattle Sounders in 2014-15, the U.S. international spent much of 2015-16 battling relegation. The Black Cats eventually secured their Premier League safety, and boss Sam Allardyce was full of praise for his right-back’s contribution.
"I have to say something on DeAndre who seems to have managed the situation as a young player in the Premier League for the first time, much, much better recently," Allardyce said in April, per Chronicle Live's James Hunter. "He’s had a lot to take in and learn in a short period of time after coming from the States to the Premier League."
That need to learn the English game was why Tottenham sent him to the north-east in the first place. With this experience under his belt, he could be primed for his chance in the capital, potentially replicating Danny Rose’s progression following his own loan spell at Sunderland.
At the same time as Yedlin has been developing at Sunderland, Spurs have been moving on at right-back.
Kieran Trippier signed last summer just months after Yedlin’s arrival. Although he performed well in his first season, his impact was most notably felt as a source of motivation for arguably a career-best campaign from mainstay Kyle Walker.
Perhaps Pochettino has been convinced enough by Yedlin to incorporate him into this dynamic or maybe even replace one of Trippier or Walker.
But if that is not the case, the American must be allowed to move on so he can build on the momentum established this season.
Tom Carroll
How Pochettino intends to shape his midfield this offseason will make for one of Tottenham’s most fascinating summer storylines.
This past campaign saw a rejuvenated Mousa Dembele join new arrival Dele Alli and newly installed Eric Dier in forming one of the most effective central triangles in the Premier League. As a consequence, the previous year’s starters, Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason, saw their game time decrease considerably (though this was also a result of injury problems for both).
In between all this came Tom Carroll, back from his loan spell at Swansea City and eventually working his way into Pochettino’s rotation. After two years away, he finally got another opportunity to impress at the club where he learned his trade.
Tottenham do not feel anywhere near as bloated here as they did a year ago, back when players such as Etienne Capoue, Paulinho and Benjamin Stambouli were clearly on the outs with their Argentinian boss.
But as good as the midfield contingent largely did this past year, a partial refreshing of things would not go amiss—be that in a new signing or two or a more substantial chance for youngsters such as Josh Onomah and Harry Winks.
That would likely mean at least one player making way.
Bentaleb had a rough year but with his potential would not be easily cast aside. Mason finished poorly and would attract offers from elsewhere, yet the attributes of versatility and energy that would drive that interest (and which were surprisingly absent in those latter appearances) could still secure him a role as a Spurs squad player.
The most likely candidate to move on, then, has to be Carroll.
He has just turned 24, and if he is to progress, he will need greater opportunities than he is likely to get at Tottenham.
The chances afforded to him (at the expense of Bentaleb, no less) suggests Pochettino clearly admires his tidy passing and general work ethic. But with similar hopes for Winks here or the possibility of an even more effective and well-rounded midfielder coming in, it is difficult to see a place for Carroll.
Nacer Chadli
When the story of Tottenham’s decade is told, Nacer Chadli deserves recognition for being one of the few signed in anticipation of Gareth Bale’s sale to Real Madrid to genuinely find a place at the club.
That crop of signings received ample criticism, but the Belgian persevered and, along with Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela, demonstrated there was value in that summer 2013 outlay.
However, after three seasons with Spurs, the time is right for Chadli to take the next step in his career.
Pochettino will be looking to strengthen his attack this summer, and someone in this department will need to make way.
Chadli did good work for Spurs in the opening months of 2016. He notably scored in important league wins over Crystal Palace and Swansea, and he also did good turns helping the team progress in the UEFA Europa League and FA Cup.
But his season never quite took off like the previous one. His overall scoring tally of seven fell short of 2014-15’s 13, while his form felt less substantial and never quite deserving of a longer starting run.
Alli, Eriksen and Lamela look to be firmly ahead of him in the pecking order. The more naturally versatile Clinton Njie and Heung-Min Son had mixed first years at Spurs but should be afforded the chance to build on their initial Premier League experiences.
With another out-and-out striker or two almost certain to be signed this summer, it is likely to leave Chadli on the outside looking in.
His lack of football saw him miss out on Belgium’s Euro 2016 squad. The 26-year-old will not want to stagnate further, and Tottenham will know they could recoup a significant transfer fee for him (almost certainly a profit on the reported £7 million they paid FC Twente).
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