Can he play upfront?
Spurs News 24/7Nacer Chadli, fee agreed, deal done subject to medical and personal terms. It's all on the official website which means it's a done deal. Enjoy the anticipation that will exist between now and when Spurs publish a photo of Chadli in Lilywhite because a day or two after that the majority will be back to baying for blood, bemoaning the lack of a certifiable striker target. It's been a powerful transfer window so far, with plenty of time still left for more.
Firstly, Chadli. I'm happy with this signing. One of the player positions I've written about several times since the end of last season has been the necessity to have someone provide depth and competition and cover for the 'flankers'. Not an out and out winger in the traditional sense (I stated he was left-sided in a previous article but he's more adaptable) but this still means we have four players (Bale, Lennon, Townsend, Chadli) that can provide width. Our new Belgian acquisition can also play across the field behind the striker if called upon. To be honest, there's little point in delving deeper into team selection as currently we don't know if Townsend will remain at Spurs (or be loaned out). Also, playing 'out wide' as pencilled in post-game in the line-up doesn't necessarily mean you are anchored there (see Bale as the most perfect example).
Chadli does give us another option but also gives us refined quality in terms of build, strength and technical ability. This is a squad of carefully selected players, assembled to fit into the football Andre Villas-Boas wants to play. Look across the squad and note how aligned the players are, how they complement each other. Okay, one or two positions need work, but generally, you can't dispute how effective we've been in the past two summers - so far. This is really shaping up to be a very strong side. Physically and in application of skill.
I guess with our ongoing obsession to sign a world class striker, we can sometimes forget how healthy we look elsewhere in the squad. And why does this striker saga remain an obsession? Because the striker scores goals, or is meant to. We're not actually forgetting or ignoring how strong we are in other areas of the team - but more so understanding just how strong (and without an excuse) we could be if we had something truly brilliant up front.
The irony that this article was meant to be about Chadli and I've not even managed to wait a day or two before citing 'the lack of a certifiable striker target'.
So many of the alleged targets are probably not achievable regardless of whether Spurs are genuinely interested or not. But that doesn't mean we won't inquire or bid. Again, with 443 the (starting) formation of choice, we only need one up front. We need two for rotation. We need three ideally (to avoid what happened last season). If we could upgrade both our current strikers, we probably would. Wouldn't any club? The reality is, we could do with a third player for depth assurance. What that does to impact the two we currently have is still purely theoretical. We could be here all day.
Going on past history, Defoe always ends up getting benched. Adebayor is still (potentially) a top class player that could be devastating when on form. But as Spurs fans, we don't need to discuss why that potential remains flawed until proven otherwise. And that is a risk we might be taking.
I don't know. This article is now a mess of emotions. Defoe will stay at Spurs, I think. Impact sub wise - a brilliant option. If we sign another player in the same 'bracket' of class as Adebayor, then Ade might be sold on. It would still leave us with two. That might have to do, much like it did last season. Let's not forget what Bale is capable of. This team continues to evolve.
Please don't ask me what we'll do if Bale got injured. In the mean time...
Nacer Chadli. Welcome to Tottenham.
