From Jim's chair
So, Djed Spence is an Inter Milan player or near enough by the time this lands in your inbox. And as ever, the verdicts have raced ahead of the facts, with half the fanbase already deciding whether this is shrewd business or a sale we'll live to regret.
I'd offer a calmer read. When a player wants guaranteed starts we can't offer him (and a meaningful pay rise from one of the lowest first-team salaries at the club) and a €30m bid lands from a club prepared to give him both, what choice did Spurs really have? And that's a big fee by Serie A standards; Premier League money simply wasn't on the table.
The part we can't judge yet is the part that matters most: who comes in next. If it's a profile built for De Zerbi's system – strong delivery, comfortable inverting – this will look like smart squad building. If it isn't, the frustration will be fair. Judge the whole decision, not half of it. The full breakdown is on the channel now.
Before you get into this week's issue, a quick thank you. This newsletter has just passed 500 subscribers, and to everyone who's joined recently, it's brilliant to have you here. If you're enjoying these, do us one small favour: forward this to a Spurs-supporting friend. It's the single best way to help us grow.
Enjoy the issue.
COYS #OhSo33,
– Jim
Two Players Out, Two Players In?
It’s been a light week for Spurs – nothing crazy happening besides signing a new contract with Micky van de Ven and releasing the third kit and getting our draw for the Carabao cup –
Oh wait, that is kind of a lot. Sorta.
Micky van de Ven extending his contract at Spurs really shows that the players have faith in De Zerbi and his long term plans. It’s exciting to see. I honestly thought Van de Ven was thinking about leaving because of how dismal his performances were under Frank and Tudor. But to be fair, the players didn’t like those managers and under Tudor, were damaged goods from Frank, so they needed something to believe in and the only person who managed to do that was De Zerbi. I’m happy with Van de Ven extending his contract – even if it means he’s one of the highest paid players at this club – as it means we retain the fastest player in the Premier League and will now build on a Dutch wall (Jan Paul van Hecke everybody!!). Scenes when everyone gets flashbacks to Vertonghen and Alderweireld.
We also released our third kit, though this was leaked many times beforehand. It’s a pretty purple retro callback – a striped dark purple and royal-purple-esque colorway with some weird zig-zags in the back. Honestly, it’s sick. I’m not sure how I feel about that massive collar as a player because I hate feeling things on my neck while I play, but I digress – I’m not a professional Tottenham Hotspur player so it doesn’t really matter. Guess I’m just being picky.
Our third kit for the season. Credit: @spursofficial
We (un)officially sold Djed Spence to Inter Milan for around £26m. Bit disappointing considering how good he was for England, but honestly I have to question why De Zerbi has decided to get rid of Spence. Surely it isn’t because Spence is a bad player? Could it truly be because he’s trying to get rid of the big(ger) egos in the squad and/or trying to balance the squad?
The same goes for selling Cristian Romero to Atletico Madrid. I don’t think anyone is surprised with this transfer, it’s just bittersweet. I personally have always liked Romero and loved how much passion he put into each game (even if some disagree). I will say he doesn’t help his case when he tries to watch his hometown Argentinian team rather than try to captain the side in our battle for relegation, nor does it help that, because he’s rash, he was refereed differently. But still, I liked him. I think maybe this was the best outcome for both parties – we get somewhat decent money for him (is £35m really worth it for a World Cup winning centre-back and runners-up??) and he gets to move to Spain (a move that, honestly, he’s been pushing for years).
Yang Min-Hyeok was also loaned out to KVC Westerlo for the season. Best of luck for the season, Min-Hyeok!
We got our draw for the Carabao Cup, with Charlton Athletic at home. My heart was in my throat because this was genuinely giving Chelsea away (as they were still in the draw at the time) but thankfully we got a home draw and a non-Prem team. As Spurs fans I think we can all agree we always end up with a terrible draw in the early stages and have to claw our way through. I still don’t have high hopes for the FA Cup if I’m being honest.
Spurs play a double header against TSG Hoffenheim this weekend! One at the stadium and another at the training ground before the season starts. Honestly, I can’t believe how fast this summer has flown by! The World Cup definitely helped alleviate the football aspect but either way, the 26/27 season starting this soon feels rather absurd. Can’t wait to see De Zerbi ball in action when it matters!
Finally, though it’s not officially confirmed yet, it looks like we’re about to go ahead with Cody Gakpo and Savinho. For Gakpo, it seems as if personal terms have already been agreed upon while Savinho has done pretty much everything he can to leave Man City to join Spurs (haha, what a funny sentence). Have you seen how much he comments on our current players' Instagram posts? Fingers crossed we can get these two done before the first game of the season, I’d love to start integrating them ASAP.
Until next week.
The Analyst/A Coach’s View
There is no written Analyst or Coach’s View section this week or new videos, but keep an eye out for a special collab between these two dropping soon! Wink wink.