January 2021 Transfer Window – No Ins, Many Outs

The January transfer window has drawn to a close, with no incoming players, but no less than 14 departures. However, despite Dele Alli and Danny Rose looking for other options, neither were able to secure a loan away from the club.

Here are all the players on the move:

Gedson FernandesLoan cancellation (Benfica)

It never came close to working out. The 22 year old arrived from Benfica arrived last January and was heralded as someone whose talent and versatility would bring fresh dynamism to the squad. In the end we didn’t see that talent emerge and his versatility saw him shunted into various positions on the few occasions he turned out in lilywhite.

In the end Gedson made a total of 14 appearances for Tottenham, just two of them – cup games against Marine and Chelsea – coming this season.

The Portuguese international was immediately loaned out again to Turkish giants Galatasaray upon his recall.


Paulo GazzanigaLoan (Elche)

Joe Hart’s arrival had seen Gazzaniga slip down the pecking order despite making 25 appearances last season.

At 29 years of age and approaching the best years of his career, Gazzaniga simply could not afford to be languishing on the sidelines.

Elche may be battling relegation, but playing regular first team football in La Liga is a great opportunity for the Argentine international to get his career back on track.


Jonathan De Bie Free transfer (R.W.D. Molenbeek)

De Bie was set to be released last summer, but stayed following Covid-19 which caused a lack of trial opportunities at other clubs.

Anderlecht, KV Mechelen and KAA Gent were all said to be interested in the 20 year old goalkeeper last year, but he has now moved to Belgian First Division B side R.W.D. Molenbeek.

It is a disappointing end for the Belgium youth international, who had a promising start to his time at Hotspur Way after Spurs beat Liverpool to his signature.


Anthony Georgiou Free transfer (AEL Limassol)

23-year-old Georgiou had been with Spurs since joining from Watford in 2013 and spent time out on loan with Levante B, Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers, playing both as a left-back and as a left-winger.

It was against another Cypriot side that Georgiou made his Spurs debut in 2018. The substitute appearance against APOEL in the Champions League was to be his only appearance for the club, however.

He has already made his debut for AEL having made the move in mid-January.

You can read more on Georgiou’s transfer here.


Maurizio Pochettino Free transfer (Watford)

Pochettino, 19, has joined Watford on a free transfer, bringing to an end the last Pochettino link with Tottenham after his father, Mauricio, and brother, Sebastian – a sports scientist – left the club in November 2019.

A right sided midfielder, Pochettino was a regular for Tottenham’s youth sides, making nearly 50 appearances for the U23s and U18s. However, the route to first team football was crowded and he leaves the club without making his first team debut, with his contract set to expire on 30 June 2021.

You can read more on Pochettino’s move here.


Brandon AustinLoan (Orlando City)

Austin has moved to Orlando City on loan to further his development after making eight appearances for the Under-23s in the Premier League 2 this year.

He spent the second half of last season out on loan with Danish side Viborg FF, impressing as he made 14 appearances in the NordicBet LIGA.

The England Under-21 goalkeeper is expected to complete an entire season in the MLS with Orlando, and will return to the club in December.

Austin features in our Dream Team 2030/31.


Jack ClarkeLoan (Stoke City)

Clarke moves to Stoke City on loan having made a decent impression in and around Spurs’ first team squad this season, making a few appearances off the bench.

The England Under-20 international had an difficult loan spell with QPR after making his move from Leeds United, but he looks to have settled in quickly at Stoke, having already made four appearances.


Malachi Fagan-WalcottLoan (Dundee)

Fagan-Walcott, a highly promising centre-back, has joined Scottich Championship side Dundee for the rest of the season.

The 18 year old suffered a bad injury at the beginning of the season, but has since returned for the Under-23s. Fagan-Walcott has been given the number 6 shirt at Dundee and has already made his debut for the club, playing the full 90 against Raith Rovers. He’ll be hoping he can help them to promotion before returning to Hotspur Way.

Fagan-Walcott made his first team debut against RB Leipzig in the Champions League last year and appears in our Dream Team 2030/31.


Jubril OkedinaLoan (Cambridge United)

An Under-23 regular who is comfortable playing either at centre-back or right-back, Okendina has moved to Cambridge United on loan for his first taste of senior football.

He joins a side pushing for promotion and has made two appearances for the U’s so far.


Troy Parrott Loan (Ipswich Town)

Troy Parrott has been recalled from Millwall and joined Ipswich Town on loan.

Parrott endured a difficult loan spell at the Den, with injuries restricting him to 14, goalless appearances. Often being played out of position didn’t help and there is no doubt that the Championship remains a competitive and challenging league to be making your first real strides in the senior game. Even Harry Kane’s loan spells weren’t always an unqualified success.

However, Parrott remains a major talent. He’s already received two caps for the Republic of Ireland and his natural ability will hardly disappear after only a few months. Let’s not forget, this is a player who made his debut for Spurs at the age of 17 and spent most of last season in the first-team squad. He also scored 31 goals in just 38 games for the youth sides since after joining the club in 2017.

He joins an Ipswich Town who are going through a difficult period, with the club falling to 11th in the table and the local newspaper calling for Paul Lambert to be sacked – with only 27 goals in 23 games they are in desperate need of a new striker. It’s clear that Troy Parrott will get games, and, if given the service, he will get goals. This could be a very good move for him and Spurs, not to mention Ipswich and Paul Lambert.

You can read more on Parrott’s move here. He also stars in our Dream Team 2030/31.


Jack RolesLoan (Stevenage)

We are big fans of Jack ‘Scores Goals’ Roles here at Lilywhite Rose and are hoping his loan to Stevenage gets him back playing football.

Roles had a good loan spell with Cambridge United in 2019/20 making 25 appearances and scoring five goals, including a 30-yard screamer. However, his last loan spell with Burton Albion was a difficult one, making just three appearances off the bench.

We know that, given the chance, the Cyrpus international will get back to doing what he does best.


Kazaiah SterlingLoan (Greenock Morton)

Sterling’s move to Greenock Morton is the 22 year old’s fifth loan spell, his latest at Southend United yielding just one goal in 12 appearances.

Despite amassing 34 goals in 78 games for the U23s and U18s, as well as making two substitute appearances for the first team, Sterling’s once promising career is now in danger of stalling.

Sterling’s contract with Spurs expires this June – he’ll be hoping to impress while out on loan to secure a new club in the summer.


Shilow TraceyLoan (Cambridge United)

Shilow Tracey has been recalled from his loan spell at Shrewsbury Town and has joins fellow Hotspur Way player Jubril Okedina at Cambridge United.

Although he scored four goals while at Shrewsbury, they were all in the EFL Trophy and Tracey was in and out of the side, managing just 12 appearances in all competitions.

At 22, and with his contract expiring in June, Tracey will be wanting to make a strong impression with the U’s.


Harvey WhiteLoan (Portsmouth)

White made his Tottenham debut in the Europa League this season before earning his first start against Marine in the FA Cup. He he has been in and around the first-team squad for much of the season and now joins a Portsmouth side pushing for promotion from League One.

He has already made two appearances for Pompey and we are looking forward to watching how this talented young player go from strength to strength with more senior competitive minutes under his belt.

He could come up against fellow Spur, Troy Parrott, when their respective clubs meet in March.

White forms a midfield trio with Oliver Skipp and Alfie Devine in our Dream Team 2030/31.

Four Ways Spurs Could Line Up After January’s Transfer Window

With the January transfer window now just over halfway through, James Hicks looks at the different ways that Spurs could line up by the start of February, including a few familiar faces as well as new signings.

  1. Keeping The Faith

Although results haven’t been going the way that fans would’ve liked them to recently, this team is 4th for most goals scored in the Premier League, 3rd for least conceded, and the 2nd least conceded from open play behind Manchester City.

Against Sheffield United on Sunday, Steven Bergwijn showed signs of promise to be able to become the third attacker that Tottenham so desperately need to perform alongside Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son and help the team with goal contributions.

Tanguy Ndombele scored a outrageous chip over Aaron Ramsdale at Bramall Lane and is looking fitter than ever, completing 90 minutes of football against the Blades and slowly showing signs of progression with his fitness which I’m sure every Spurs fan is loving to see his improvement and adaption recently.

The defence is always a major talking point of the Spurs line-up no matter who’s playing and I would argue that this is our most experienced back four, Sergio Reguilon and Serge Aurier give us the width and pace we need in the full-back positions. Toby Alderweireld and Eric Dier have been Jose’s trusted partnership this year and their record from open play speaks for itself, conceding the joint least goals from open play, but as everyone knows, set pieces are a huge problem, an issue perhaps which could be solved with the next line up.

2. The Midfield Trio

This was the line-up Spurs fans were most looking forward to after the close of the summer transfer window with a little twist.

In this scenario, Marcel Sabitzer would join the front three in replacement of Steven Bergwijn, with the Austrian – who has a year and a half left on his contract at RB Leipzig – finally making the move having been linked with Spurs on and off for some time.

He would be a great addition to the squad and would provide a player who is extremely versatile where he can play whether it be just off the strikers in the 10 role, out wide either side of a front three or even central midfield. Sabitzer is flexible and can help with goal contributions from anywhere on the field with the 26-year-old producing 17 goal contributions in 32 games in the Bundesliga last season.

It is more likely, however, that Spurs and Levy will attempt to sign Sabitzer in the summer due to his contract situation, replicating what happened with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg negotiations due to his lack of contract, where Spurs ended up with what is looking like a bargain in the Dane.

Another attraction of this team is the midfield three everyone couldn’t wait to watch play together this season in Giovani Lo Celso, Ndombele and Hojbjerg. The trio have only started together once all season, against LASK in the Europa League where it never really gelled, however with Ndombele fitness now ever increasing hopefully when Lo Celso returns from injury we’ll be able to see these three together in action, a spectacle many Spurs were extremely looking forward to.

In defence I’ve partnered Joe Rodon next to Dier after his impressive performance in his second league start against Sheffield United, in his brief cameos in a back four this season he has been really impressive and arguably deserves a chance at a long run in the team, with Jose Mourinho evidently undecided on who he is going to partner alongside Dier in a back four.

3. Five at the Back

Mourinho first debuted Spurs playing three/five at the back against Wolves, where again Spurs conceded from a set piece, however against Sheffield United it look much more assured and controlled posing the question whether it’s worth playing that formation?

Keeping the same front three – which I would say is the best – and a midfield pivot of Ndombele and Hojbjerg, would help to provide the foundations which this team is built on.

Both Reguilon and Doherty were bought over the summer from Sevilla and Wolves respectively, however we have hardly seen either of them play in a position that they thrive in so much as a wing-back. They both offer great pace and crossing ability for one of the forward three to get their head on, especially Reguilon as seen against Fulham.

Last season Doherty had 12 goal contributions in 50 games for Wolves, while Reguilon had eight contributions in 38 games, at the moment Spurs’ highest goal contributor apart from Son and Kane is Ndombele on four, this is something that Jose needs to find the answer to and quick.

By playing this formation it would give Doherty and Reguilon much more license to get forward without having to worry as much about their defensive duties, instead helping Spurs when they go forward, this could help produce many more goal scoring opportunities with crosses and runs from both wing backs.

With the three centre-backs, it would be fair to say Rodon has more than earnt his chance in defence, here he would be alongside Dier and Japhet Tanganga, Tanganga has severely struggled for game time this season due to a back injury he suffered earlier in the season. However with him now slowly progressing back into the set-up and his superb performances last year he also warrants a chance at centre-back especially with all of Jose’s chopping and changing he has been doing recently at centre-half.

4. The Return of DESK

Is the return of DESK a possibility for Mourinho and Tottenham? Christian Eriksen has been heavily linked back with a move back to White Hart Lane after failing to impress at Inter Milan since his transfer last January.

Dele Alli has suffered a similar dip in form since last season, but is still putting up decent numbers when being put in the team with four goal contributions in twelve matches. What Dele needs is a sustained period in the first XI where he tries to rediscover his form with the full support of his manager and he’ll get back to his best.

Dele, Eriksen, Son and Kane, if both Dele and Eriksen were able to rediscover their form this front four would be formidable and could possibly resolve Tottenham’s reliance on solely Son and Kane to provide goals.

Alderweireld partners Dier in defence in this team, both of whom are accustomed to each other by now having played together for nearly 6 years, many of which have been spent alongside one another at the heart of Spurs’ defence.

Would the return of Dele and Eriksen help to improve Spurs’ creativity moving forward?

Georgiou moves to AEL Limassol

Lilywhite Rose can exclusively reveal that Anthony Georgiou has completed his permanent transfer to AEL Limassol.

23-year-old Georgiou has been with Spurs since joining from Watford in 2013 and has spent time out on loan with Levante B, Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers, playing both as a left-back and as a left-winger.

It was against another Cypriot side that Georgiou made his Spurs debut in 2018. The substitute appearance against APOEL in the Champions League was to be his only appearance for the club, however.

An 8-cap Cypriot international, Georgiou joins one of the island’s most successful clubs, with AEL having won six first division titles, seven Cypriot Cups and four Super Cups in their history. With their last league title coming in 2011/12, AEL will be hope their new signing can help propel them back to domestic glory and into Europe.

In 2014/2015, AEL faced Tottenham in a Europa League play-off, with Spurs securing a 5-1 aggregate win.

Good luck for the future, Anthony.

Tainio Jr leaves Spurs to join Tainio Snr

Maximus Tainio has left Spurs and joined Finnish side FC Haka where he will be managed by his father, Teemu.

The 19 year old was out of contract this summer.

Tainio is a versatile player who can play in either midfield or at right back. Although born in Auxerre, France, he has committed to the Finnish national team and appeared at every youth level up to U19s.

FC Haka has been managed by Tainio senior since 2018 and will play in Finland’s premier division of football, the Veikkausliiga, after winning the Ykkönen (2nd tier) last season. Based in the town of Valkeakoski, 90 miles north of Helsinki, the club will be hoping the Tainios can return the club to its former glory.

Good luck, Maxi!