Giovani Dos Santos: What Is the Next Step in the Mexican Winger's Career?

As a follower of the US National Team, I have watched Giovani Dos Santos torment us for years now.

In the 2009 Gold Cup, Dos Santos won the penalty for the first goal, scored the second goal and set up the third goal as Mexico went on to destroy the United States 5-0 in the final. Dos Santos would go on to win the MVP award, while the US National Team was left to make excuses about how their best team had not been brought to the competition and how they weren't taking it seriously.

Yet, last night with their strongest squad (minus Onyewu and Altidore due to injuries), the United States were torn apart by Mexico again in the 2011 Gold Cup final.

And despite the changes in both teams, Dos Santos was once again at the center of the action, claiming a partial assist on the second goal and scoring the goal of the tournament with a magnificent chip despite being pressured by two defenders and having another US defender standing right on the line. For his efforts, Dos Santos was voted Man of the Match.

However, as good as Dos Santos' international career has been over the last three years, with him heavily involved in Mexico's two Gold Cup wins and Mexico's run in the 2010 World Cup, his club career has been very poor since his move from Barcelona to Tottenham.

After Dos Santos was involved in 38 games with Barcelona in the 2007-08 season and scoring a hat trick in his last game as a Barcelona player, Tottenham looked to have completed a great transfer in bringing him to White Hart Lane for only €6 million plus appearance-based bonuses.

Unfortunately, after being involved in six out of Tottenham's first seven league games of the season (of which Tottenham lost five and drew one), Dos Santos was dropped from the league squad altogether, and only got a few appearances here and there in Tottenham's Cup campaigns (UEFA, FA and Carling Cups).

Eventually he was spent on loan to Ipswich Town, where he performed well, starting six out of eight games and scoring four goals. 

Brought back from his loan, Dos Santos was once again given practically no chances to prove himself at Tottenham, and in January was sent on loan to Galatasaray, this time with the option to be purchased at the end of his loan period. Unfortunately, his performances were not amazing during his time at Galatasaray; he managed zero goals and three assists, and Galatasaray decided not to take up the option to sign him permanently.

The cycle repeated itself again. Dos Santos was limited to very few appearances until January at Tottenham, and then sent on loan to another team, this time Racing Santander.

At Santander, Dos Santos had his most successful season as a professional; he recorded five goals and three assists in 16 games (and this was after playing as a sub in six out of his first seven games at the club). His performances helped his club, a strong candidate for relegation this past season, to a solid 12th place finish in the league.

Now, returning from loan to Tottenham for the third time in three years, the question needs to be answered: What is the next step for Dos Santos?

At the age of 22, Dos Santos still has plenty of time to make a proper club career for himself, but he must establish himself once and for all at a club, and move past this "yo-yo" phase of his career. He must decide what he wants as a player, and maybe even confront his Redknapp on what his role will be this upcoming season with the squad, and then make a decision on his future.

Currently, its hard to see Dos Santos having any chance of breaking into the Tottenham squad. He's a very versatile player, capable of playing as an attacking midfielder, second striker, or winger, but currently those slots are occupied by Modric, Van Der Vaart, Lennon and Bale, respectively. And behind each of those players are one or two players waiting to be rotated in.

Nevertheless, any coach who saw Dos Santos' goal tonight would be crazy to not at least consider trying to work him in to the squad. Dos Santos clearly has the talent; it just needs the right nurturing, and maybe Redknapp will realize this and involve the versatile striker/winger in his squad next season.

An alternative scenario, of course, is that the player moves to another club. As reported in one of my Tottenham articles earlier, Dos Santos' performances with Racing Santander have led Sevilla to be very keen to acquire his services. And with his performance in the Gold Cup Final, it is likely that other decent sized clubs will also inquire about Dos Santos' availability.

As a Tottenham fan, I would love it if Redknapp would wake up and realize just how much potential Dos Santos has, and give him an extended run in the team. Especially with his ability to play in a variety of positions, I don't think it would be too hard to incorporate him in the squad, and even give him a couple of starts when injuries pile up or players get fatigued.

Like all young players, Dos Santos needs to have the confidence of his manager to succeed, and we have yet to see Redknapp give him that since his move from Barcelona.

Regardless of whether Redknapp changes his attitude towards Dos Santos or not though, Dos Santos needs to stop being passive about his future and make a decision/move that will allow him to secure regular first team football and to continue to develop as a player. He is simply too good to allow his talents to go to waste.

What do you think? Should Dos Santos stay at Tottenham, move to Sevilla, or move somewhere else? Any clubs in particular you think would be a good fit for him? Feel free to participate in the poll and leave your comments. I look forward to reading them.