The King is dead at Tottenham as they sell their Elvis to fund arrival of the Beatles
Darren Lewis expects supergroup of signings funded by Bale's
exit to change the face of the club - as long as AVB gets a tune out of
them
Getty
Gareth Bale remained grounded in a transfer no-man’s land last night,
with Spurs chief Daniel Levy still blocking his flight to Spain, writes Darren Lewis in Madrid.
But the world-record transfer fee the Tottenham chairman will receive from Real Madrid this weekend has already been spent to changing the face of the team that he is leaving behind.
In July, there was despair among the White Hart Lane faithful over the prospect of surrendering another of the club’s top stars to the Bernabeu, a year after the loss of Luka Modric.
But Levy has turned that anxiety and disappointment into excitement and expectation ahead of Sunday’s North London derby against a seemingly business-phobic Arsenal.
He has drafted in a succession of top quality signings, spending over £100 million to re-mould the squad into one of the best Spurs have had in years.
Former White Hart Lane favourite Garth Crooks could not have put it better with his seal of approval. He said: “Spurs have sold Elvis and signed the Beatles.
“Of course, the players now have got to go out there and do the business this season. But Daniel really has done the business for the club this summer.”
Levy’s finest signing this close season has been Franco Baldini.
The respected, unassuming, well-connected fixer has in turn consigned the club’s customary Deadline Day supermarket sweep - that had made them a bit of a laughing stock - to history.
Now it is Arsenal waiting to snap up everyone else’s cast-offs while Tottenham bed down their big stars.
Baldini and Arsenal counterpart Dick Law are like chalk and cheese.
Where Law has been ponderous, uncertain and - with some bids - downright unrealistic this summer, Levy and Baldini have been ambitious and decisive.
They have shown rival clubs respect in bidding for their top players.
They have been so efficient that the likes of David Villa and Christian Benteke - two targets that slipped through the club’s fingers in early July - are barely mentioned now.
The upshot is a Tottenham team now being talked of as potential title challengers.
No wonder Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho didn’t want them to get Willian!
No wonder the west Londoners have no intention of allowing Juan Mata to go to White Hart Lane.
Yet Spurs still want another left-back, and still want another another striker.
The side that faces Arsenal on Sunday will show the transformation in Andre Villas-Boas’ squad, with eight changes from the team that played in last season’s corresponding fixture.
A graphic doing the rounds among the club’s fans has the Spurs players split into two separate teams, illustrating just how much depth AVB has at his disposal.
Tottenham’s strongest XI will be a match for anyone this season.
In goal, France no.1 Hugo Lloris has already proven himself to be an outstanding last line of defence.
Tottenham’s back-line could yet have Kyle Walker at right-back, Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen at centre-half and Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao (still the favourite for that position) at left-back.
In midfield, AVB will have the powerful Etienne Capoue to hold with Paulinho alongside him.
Further forward, Spurs could field Erik Lamela on the left, Christian Eriksen just off the striker and Andros Townsend (who’d have thought he’d force his way into the Spurs team of the future?) on the right.
Up front, Roberto Soldado is already settling down as the cutting edge that Spurs were lacking all too often last season.
And, while the north Londoners often had far too few alternatives last season, this time around they are spoilt for choice.
Brad Friedel, Vlad Chiriches, Mousa Dembele, Sandro, Nacer Chadli, Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe. Not a bad bench, is it?
And that’s before you even get to the likes of Aaron Lennon and Lewis Holtby.
It is also before you consider that Spurs want to replace Emmanuel Adebayor with another frontman.
AVB’s biggest job will be to make it all work.
He has been given the quality that he craved since last season to give himself a better chance of breaking into the Champions League.
Now that Elvis is leaving the building for Spain, the Spurs boss will be keen to get an even better tune out of the Beatles.
But the world-record transfer fee the Tottenham chairman will receive from Real Madrid this weekend has already been spent to changing the face of the team that he is leaving behind.
In July, there was despair among the White Hart Lane faithful over the prospect of surrendering another of the club’s top stars to the Bernabeu, a year after the loss of Luka Modric.
But Levy has turned that anxiety and disappointment into excitement and expectation ahead of Sunday’s North London derby against a seemingly business-phobic Arsenal.
He has drafted in a succession of top quality signings, spending over £100 million to re-mould the squad into one of the best Spurs have had in years.
Former White Hart Lane favourite Garth Crooks could not have put it better with his seal of approval. He said: “Spurs have sold Elvis and signed the Beatles.
“Of course, the players now have got to go out there and do the business this season. But Daniel really has done the business for the club this summer.”
Levy’s finest signing this close season has been Franco Baldini.
The respected, unassuming, well-connected fixer has in turn consigned the club’s customary Deadline Day supermarket sweep - that had made them a bit of a laughing stock - to history.
Now it is Arsenal waiting to snap up everyone else’s cast-offs while Tottenham bed down their big stars.
Baldini and Arsenal counterpart Dick Law are like chalk and cheese.
Where Law has been ponderous, uncertain and - with some bids - downright unrealistic this summer, Levy and Baldini have been ambitious and decisive.
They have shown rival clubs respect in bidding for their top players.
They have been so efficient that the likes of David Villa and Christian Benteke - two targets that slipped through the club’s fingers in early July - are barely mentioned now.
The upshot is a Tottenham team now being talked of as potential title challengers.
No wonder Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho didn’t want them to get Willian!
No wonder the west Londoners have no intention of allowing Juan Mata to go to White Hart Lane.
Yet Spurs still want another left-back, and still want another another striker.
The side that faces Arsenal on Sunday will show the transformation in Andre Villas-Boas’ squad, with eight changes from the team that played in last season’s corresponding fixture.
A graphic doing the rounds among the club’s fans has the Spurs players split into two separate teams, illustrating just how much depth AVB has at his disposal.
Tottenham’s strongest XI will be a match for anyone this season.
In goal, France no.1 Hugo Lloris has already proven himself to be an outstanding last line of defence.
Tottenham’s back-line could yet have Kyle Walker at right-back, Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen at centre-half and Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao (still the favourite for that position) at left-back.
In midfield, AVB will have the powerful Etienne Capoue to hold with Paulinho alongside him.
Further forward, Spurs could field Erik Lamela on the left, Christian Eriksen just off the striker and Andros Townsend (who’d have thought he’d force his way into the Spurs team of the future?) on the right.
Up front, Roberto Soldado is already settling down as the cutting edge that Spurs were lacking all too often last season.
And, while the north Londoners often had far too few alternatives last season, this time around they are spoilt for choice.
Brad Friedel, Vlad Chiriches, Mousa Dembele, Sandro, Nacer Chadli, Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe. Not a bad bench, is it?
And that’s before you even get to the likes of Aaron Lennon and Lewis Holtby.
It is also before you consider that Spurs want to replace Emmanuel Adebayor with another frontman.
AVB’s biggest job will be to make it all work.
He has been given the quality that he craved since last season to give himself a better chance of breaking into the Champions League.
Now that Elvis is leaving the building for Spain, the Spurs boss will be keen to get an even better tune out of the Beatles.
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