Tottenham have confirmed their second permanent departure of this January transfer window with defender Adam Smith following Simon Dawkins out of the exit door. Dawkins was due a move after several fruitless years at the club but at the start of last season, some of us were suggesting that Smith could be a serious rival for Kyle Walker in the right back position.
So were the club right to let him go? The player himself Tweeted his feelings on the matter and clearly wanted a permanent deal after so many loan moves away from White Hart Lane.
‘Thankful to Spurs for what they have done for me in my career! Felt it was right time for me to move on and settle somewhere and get more games under my belt to further my career so am looking forward to my new chapter at Bournemouth’.
Key to this move is the emergence of Ryan Fredericks who looked more than comfortable in his Europa League appearance before moving on to Millwall until the end of the season.
We wish Adam well but could he have aimed higher than a move to a club whose main ambition is to stay in the Championship?
‘Some of us were suggesting that Smith could be a serious rival for Kyle Walker in the right back position’. Based on what? Just because you see him playing for MK Dons on the TV driving forward and getting a cross in? Being a full back is first and foremost about defending. Unless a youngster is outstanding (Bentaleb) or playing brilliantly on loan he is not going to challenge for a place in the first team of a football club aspiring to the top 4. It’s a lovely thought that a youngster from the Academy can make it, but it is very, very rare for all top clubs. Adam was never going to be anywhere near good enough.
Fredericks is far better defending and going forward than this kid and has twice the potential because of his height and incredible speed. This definitely won’t come back to haunt us. Fredericks is on loan at millwall to prepare him for a bigger role as a true back up to Walker next season. Makes sense to make a buck on a kid that will never make it now rather than keep him rotting in the reserves for even longer, for him and more importantly tottenham!
I wanted him to make it into the 1st team but he’s 22 now and sadly if he was going to do it he would’ve done so before now. Eriksen is one of the best around in his position and he’s 21.
At least we’re producing players that make it into league football and are not on the scrap heap at 20