Self-sabotaging Spurs fashioning their own top-four demise

With the club on the fringes of the Premier League title race and firmly in command of fourth-place, Tottenham’s failure to add to their squad this January has come as major shock.

Spurs have prised a five-point gap between themselves and Manchester United in the race for Champions League football next term, but goings on during the soon-to-shut transfer window threatens to undermine their price of 1/3 to make the top-four this term.

In addition to failing to recruit the striking support they sorely need in case Harry Kane succumbs to injury/fatigue, the Lilywhites have also neglected to augment their centre-back ranks after Jan Vertonghen’s sidelining.

The Belgian behemoth sustained a knee injury at Crystal Palace that will keep him out for at least two months, leaving a gaping hole in Mauricio Pochettino’s rearguard.

With no Premier League game played since the set back, it’s unclear how the Argentine plans to fill the sizeable void, though it will likely entail thrusting largely inexperienced individuals into a high-pressure situation.

Ancillary stopper Kevin Wimmer hasn’t played a league match in English football, while Eric Dier, the likely replacement, has done his best work in Spurs’ midfield; disrupting this could have disastrous ramifications.

This being the case, Spurs’ deadline day decision to loan seasoned centre-back Federico Fazio to Sevilla strikes as especially surprising.

Pochettino doesn’t think much of his compatriot’s ability, of that he has made no secret (although he did sanction his £8m signing), but the fact remains he has featured in over 200 top-flight matches and donned Argentina colours on three instances too.

With no Vertonghen cover that floats the bosses’ boat being choppered in, the decision to allow Fazio to go may well prove one Spurs regret should further injuries dismantle their defence.

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