More bang for our buck: Pochettino’s Wilfried Zaha alternative?

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As the full-time whistle reverberated around Wembley on Saturday evening, amid the contrasting emotions between those clad in white and those in claret, a potential signing was seemingly crossed off Tottenham’s summer shopping list.

On the pitch, it was Slaviša Jokanović’s swashbuckling Fulham side who triumphed over Aston Villa, earning promotion to the Premier League by getting their hands on the play-off trophy. Talking of hands, The Cottagers final win also fortified their unyielding grip on young starlet, and Tottenham transfer target, Ryan Sessegnon.

There’s been an understanding that if Fulham had failed to gain promotion on Saturday, a deal for the recently-turned 18-year-old would have been “easier” for Spurs to finalise. Now though, with Fulham a Premier League side – and Sessegnon a Premier League player – any chance of luring Gareth Bale 2.0 north of London will cost upward of £50m. (A hefty dent to Pochettino’s £150m war chest.)

But could a play-off defeat still work to our advantage? Instead of exploiting Fulham’s anticipated misfortune, there’s no reason why Spurs can’t cash in on the team ruing loss in the “£160m final”. Of course, I’m talking Aston Villa. But the player? Jack Grealish.

The 22-year-old Villain has had a superb campaign at his boyhood club, with many prognosticating that a move to a top six team is a certitude in the near future. Manchester United have been linked in the past few days, and it finally seems as though Grealish is coming good on the promising potential assigned to him as a juvenile.

Boasting the versatility to play anywhere across the three behind the striker, as well as the aptitude to drop deeper into the midfield, Grealish has a distinguished flair that this Spurs side is currently lacking. Nottingham Forest stalwart John Robertson hailed the youngster’s “ability to just ghost past people”, while former Tottenham *favourite Tim Sherwood – no stranger at developing homegrown talent himself – likened Grealish to a young Joe Cole.

The potential price of the player is also a factor. The play-off defeat is predicted to come at a (literal) cost for Aston Villa, with the Midlands club having to generate around £40m-£45m from player sales and wage cuts this summer to fall in line with Financial Fair Play.

Villa owner Tony Xia reluctantly admitted this post-Wembley: “Under the current circumstances, I think the club needs to rethink not only the past two years but also the past ten years. Villa needs to be a sustainable football club. People join. People leave.”

Grealish, then, would command a lesser fee than that of Sessegnon – not to mention another Pochettino target: Wilfried Zaha. Parallel to Sessegnon’s price tag, the Palace winger is rumoured to be on the market for around the £50m mark, with bloated wage demands to boot.

Those with sources close to club assert that Pochettino is enamoured with Zaha. And, of course, this manager has more than earned the right to acquire players of his choosing. But at £50m? That’s a third of Spurs’s rumoured transfer budget, leaving us with less room to manoeuvre on future deals, as well as gaping holes still to be addressed. Instead of Zaha (and Sessegnon), Grealish would therefore provide an economical – and just as effective – alternative.

Naturally, it’s hard for us fans to get excited over a player who plies his trade in the Championship, but there’s no denying that there’s untapped potential in Grealish that Pochettino can most definitely unlock. I also recall a time when the return of Alex Pritchard to Spurs was highly anticipated following a successful loan spell at Championship side Brentford. Although Grealish might not generate the same levels of excitement, he will undoubtedly provide us with more bang for our buck than his contemporaries. A key factor in a market where it pays to be smart.

 

Grealish good shout Poch would get him buzzing very good forward thinking player

 

Do me a favour if Grealish is the market level we're dealing in then don't be surprised when when we again win nothing and more players leave ie Walker & Toby for club's that actually have ambition

 

Félon. I presume you mean losing our players to the Manchester clubs. Would that be the same Manchester club sho are looking to get .....https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...hester-united-grealish-transfer-news-14719430

Hmmm..

 

Sorry but, Grealish to me is no better than Lamela; just a right footed alternative. We need players who can push the envelop, these players will cost money. 50mil for Zaha is a steal in today's market. We have enough players who can play behind Kane, we need goal scorers! Player of quality who can get at least 15 plus goals in the season.

 

Oh my God!!! Are we ever going to stop buying potential FFS!! NOW is the time more than ever to buy top talent. That is what will move us forward. I'm fed up with being linked with potential.

 

Who look to be buying Alderwerild while we sell him and shop for Grealish......

 

Oh my word in the space of a week we've gone from speaking about bale to grealish sums spurs right up lol.
Most of the realists will know this purple patch of ours will come to an end and that's what's about to happen. A purple patch without a trophy I may add.
It is a house of cards that will collapse a lot easier than it was assembled. Madrid have identified Poch as their no1 target and you cannot and he will not turn them down. What will be his first port of call?? Obviously he will be coming in for Harry and likewise he will not turn Madrid down either. Toby is on his way and the Dembele rumours get stronger. In just a little over 12 month you see the leagues best defence broken up and the spine taken to pieces also. All of a sudden the much maligned players like lamela sissoko become starters..

 

How about something completely different - Arnoutovic. Might be pricey and a little bit of a loner, but he has played out of his skin for Moyes and Spammers.....

Don't know whether he'd suit Poch (if he stays) and I suspect Poch prefers someone like Zaha, who I also like.

 

It's Pathetic is what it is, failure is so ingrained in our club it's embarrassing!!!!
A Board that just wants to make more and more while squeezing and strangling the club itself.
Fans championing Nearly/better than the 90s as some sort of honour.
And accepting the continued process of selling accomplished proven players, clinging on to Dross and in the market for complete Nobodies with a bit of promise.
We've watched endless 'potential' come through the club for every 1 that's been successful there's another 15 that weren't and guess what as soon as the 1 Good 1 reached near their potential they are sold.

 

I'm certainly not holding my breath for anyone resembling the finished article to be signed any time soon, and our previous attempts in that direction have hardly been encouraging - Soldado, Sissoko and Aurier don't inspire confidence that big money will be spent wisely, but we've got to do something if we don't want to sink back to 'best of the rest', but God knows what.
On that subject, isn't it incredible that Levy's reputation seems never to have been higher, at a time when he's responsible for supervising a 100% overspend on the new stadium, which seems certain not to be ready until well into the coming season, with who knows what ramifications? Will the current rules be waived, or will we have a finished billion pound stadium which we can't use because Wembley will count as our home ground for the whole of 2018/19? It doesn't reflect well on our very own six million pound man (albeit he's more Dr Evil than Steve Austin) whatever the outcome.
With the Wembley factor, I certainly thought that last season would be more of a struggle in the PL than it turned-out to be, but I also expected a trophy after four years of the 'Project', and if next season is yet another 'not quite' campaign, I think Pochettino's credentials as a genuine rival to Guardiola or Mourinho will finally be exposed for the wishful thinking I've always thought them to be. That's always assuming he's not defected to our partners at Real Madrid, of course.

 

OR....

We just finished top 4 third year in a row, came third whilst playing all our games away from home. Beat the winners of the champions league At home and away. Failed against Juventus but were closer to winning than we would have been in previous years.
Plus we are moving into what will be the best stadium in the uk.
We have a manager sought after by the above mentioned best team in Europe and I think he’ll stay but if he doesn’t we’ll get money for him and are now a good draw for top level managers

We are in the best state we have been in years. Think positive boys

Life is good COYS

 

We can be critical without being sinister. Poch has done a fantastic job, DL also has done very well. Tottenham is in a good place right now, the future is even brighter. Moving forward now, will really determine if we can be a successful top club in Europe.

 

I want us to move forward, and I'm sure everyone on here would rather be proved wrong by success than right by failure, but it really seems to me that we're facing potentially huge problems of player retention, which will only be resolved by changing the wage structure AND finally achieving tangible on-field success (i.e. trophies), both of which depend on a pair of leopards changing their spots, one by loosening the ENIC purse strings, and the other by finally getting a team over the line as winners rather than also-rans. Dembele is a fraud so far as I'm concerned, and I'd be happy to see him go this summer, but if he's joined by Alderweireld, Rose and perhaps Eriksen, that's a major loss of talent and squad depth, and given that our track record in the transfer market is no longer patchy, but downright poor, I can't share your optimism for the coming season (but I honestly want to be proved wrong).

 

Absobleedinglutely.... I endorse that view voiceofreason..COYS

 

For me the Dembele situation is a little disappointing. I'm a fan, and despite his semi final lapse, I think he's been worth a new deal. Now it's easy to see why that won't materialise, but he will take some replacing. Doucoure at Watford would be ideal, but we rank behind the Mancs and possibly the Scousers in that regard. For me we've got two months to acquire our new talent, at a time when we want to offload the likes of Lamela, Janssen, Sissocko, NKD, not to mention Toby and Rose. No one said it was ever going to be easy.....

 

Don't think Pochettino would sign a new deal unless he was gonna get backing via new contract and money for signings. IF top-class talent evades us AGAIN this summer, then we can rightly lose the plot. Until then, keep the faith COYS

 

We Drew at the Bernabéu and beat them the same week that a promoted unheard of side did.
But let's pretend we beat them Home and Away in group ties and make out it was a massive success.
Should be something to cling to for the next decade.

 

Why is our transfer business so predictably ponderous slow and dull. When you see Liverpool strengthen their weaknesses with two big centre mid signings already then you see them close in to strengthen their already fantastic front line in nabil fekir the type of player we should be looking at. No doubt a keeper and centre half will follow and all of a sudden a team we finished above will be far superior. We're linked with players like grealish, French nobodies, up and coming German and Dutch players on the cheap, florin thauvin(prem league flop already) and zaha(big move flop already) ..

 

Poch is in Spain selling books Fran priorities first!