The Eden Hazard rumours persist this morning amidst claims that Spurs a preparing a £45m January bid for the Belgian midfielder and his compatriot – Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen.
Since the rumours started, prices for Hazard alone have varied from around £20m to £35m and while all the usual suspects – Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City etc etc have been linked, some of the stories suggest that Spurs are in pole position and that Harry Redknapp is trying to convince the board that Hazard is the man to cement Champions League football for next season.
There’s no doubting the 20 year old’s talent and also his versatility which sees him play as an attacking central midfielder or on either wing. Supremely talented though he is however, where is he going to play?
In Tottenham’s already crowded midfield, the manager is struggling to find a place for Sandro, while Tom Huddlestone will also face a battle to break into the side when he regains fitness.
One possibility could be as a replacement for Aaron Lennon, but versatile as Hazard is, the right wing may be the one position where his talents are least effective.
The player himself has sparked a glut of rumours by stating that he is looking to play abroad in the very near future,
“I feel ready to make it to the next level in a great club,” he told L’Equipe.
“I stayed in Lille this season because there were still things I had to work on, things to prove. But now, I’m ready.”
“Paris is not for now. After France, I want to go abroad.”
It all seems to point to a ridiculous offer from Manchester City scuppering everyone else but for now at least, the Spurs link persists.
Overall, do you agree with the assessment that here is the one player to ensure a top four finish or would Eden Hazard become the next Mike Hazard – talented but surplus to requirements?
Although Hazard is undoubtedly a world class player, and will continue to get better, it would only be worth paying the money for him if he was to play on the left wing or in an attacking central midfield role, and well, we have Bale for the left and Modric/VdV for the centre. We could do with a replacement for Lennon (although at the moment he is in good form), but as you pointed out, that’s not where Hazard’s expertise lie. Great player, but not what we need right now.
This would only make sense if the club is set on moving bale to LB….
Man, those two on the Left side would be redic….
But, the $$$ probably better spent since A&E is pretty strong at LB already..
Get Samba and a world class finisher ………That’s really all they need in January.
Don’t need any more midfielders at the moment. We need Ade on a permanant deal and another new striker in January – Llorente would be good.
Apart from this we are in great shape – In the summer we can assess how reliant we can be on Gallas and King and whether we need to invest in central defence/promote Caulker.
No need for Hazard.
agreed – great player, but not needed atm, we need to invest in the attack and think about replacing Gallas (age)and Bassong (form).would love to see Damiao or Ade signed. with either Jagielka,Samba, or Cahil (at the right price)
COYS
If we want to be the best we need to buy the best! Tottenham are so close to being the best- similar to the way Liverpool were when they finished 2nd in the league and played the best football. The reason they failed was because he didnt buy, We just need to make 2-3 quality additions to make our squad better. The squad we have now we know for sure can get the quater finals of the champions league, probabaly semi-finials seeing as we now have a proper striker and a really good defensive midfielder but I think we are not good enough to get to the final. We need to get some competition for Lennon so Hazard would be amazing seeing as he can play in van der Vaarts Lennon and Bales position so if all are fit we will always have a world class threat on the bench seeing as only 3 of them can play , 2 if we are playing with 2 strikers up front. Vertoghren is amazing, is a year younger than Cahill, is AJAX captain not Bolton, is left footed and already has his own Ajax video for top 10 goals and is a centre back. He can also play left back which means Assou-eketto has some experienced cover even though Rose is doing a very good job there. I do think his price tag is inflated but which is why i do not think we will get him but we should be looking to get a player like him or Mario Gotze who is a year younger and will shine at the Euros but thats the problem, if he does play well his price will be inflated where as Belguim didnt qualify for Euros so it would help our cause. But we should get Vertoghren for sure then get Hazard at a reasonable price because he is not the finished product yet.COYS
Good analysis.
Hazard would work as a replacement for VdV (I don’t think either would be happy playing only half the time) or selling BAE and moving Bale to LB (would be great but too expensive for an incremental improvement.
I think the money would be better spent on Goetze who is quickly becoming world-class, is only 18, and could replace Lennon who hasn’t really fulfilled potential (although the last two games he’s been making a case…)
Vertonghen would be excellent, though — much better than the English alternatives people have been making a fuss about.
Also, N’koulou and Sakho would be welcome, but might be more difficult to lure away from their clubs.
There’s certainly a need for a player with pace and skill who can play in a winger or am role and I like the idea of having a left winger to allow Bale at times to play a more free attacking role as I think he has the ability to score more goals if he has the freedom to play inside more.
Yes we have selection issues but you need to be able to rotate quality for quality and when injuries tell you need strength in depth
Whether Hazard is the player though especially given the price mentioned is another issue. No doubting his skill but I still think he showboats too much at times and whilst not nearly as bad as Taarabt has a similar mind to play more for himself than the team at times
With Pav and Gomes sure to leave in January, and our ongoing injury problems in middle of defence, we need to reinforce the spine of the team. We need a classy centre forward, a worthy replacement for King and Gallas, as well as a decent goalkeeper who wants to wait a couple of years before taking over from Friedel. In the unlikely event that we lose Modric, the fourth part of the spine also needs to be addressed. I’m afraid ‘The Hudd’ is not the answer.
Hazard would be great! He can push lennon, rotate with vdv and bale. If we can add this amount of quality to our squad it would be amazing! Can’t ever see us offering him enough wages.. What we do need apart from signing Ade and/or Damiao is EDISON CAVANI!!! We need a top,top forward when we sell Pav, as well as a better alternative than bassong/dawson in central defence. Cahill or the Ajax captain. Also realy like the links of the young Barca defenders..snap them up!!
Most importantly: Cavani
Agreed. Cavani is amazing and would be suited to the premier league.
The major factor at the moment is we cannot look only to fight for fourth spot. With our current form and quality we should push to be 3rd when january comes. If we can bring in top,top players like Hazard,Cavani,etc we can only improve. And if we finish 3rd we won’t have to face the problem of losing Modric,Bale,VdV,Walker,Adebayor to bigger clubs. Levy must realise that NOW is the best ever time for him to invest heavily,we are now at a make or break stage. Fail to qualify for ECL and we will end up losing our biggest most influential stars. Build upon what we have and keep improving, then 3rd and 2nd will become realistic. Tottenham Hotspur has the foundation to become one of europe’s best sides, it is just up to the owner and manager to not let this opportunity slip away by being reluctant to invest.
Levy mucked up the season we got cl and didnt invest, if he had we would be in the cl this season.
Now is a great time to add one or two quality players, strengthening the team and raising the profile of our club.
Hurry up and build the new stadium levy!
Cavani is very average. Would struggle in the premiership.
Bollocks
“Cavani is average” based on what? Is it your opinion? The facts indicate that he is good. He plays in a strong League – at a similar level team to ourselves, an international, played and scored in the world cup (vs Germany), currently playing in Champions League right now (scored against Villareal and Man City). He is 6ft, and Uraguayan – who are a physical bunch. The issues would be price tag, wages, and who else would want him ahead of us… Nothing wrong with dreaming I guess… You are right to an opinion, but if you do not explain your reasons, then people will write it off as a nothing statement.
The $$$ somewhere else probably better spent…….
But, if Spurs are ever serious about moving Bale back to LB, Hazard would be a perfect replacement at LM and both would run wild on that left side
Starting at the back,I for one would /will be gutted should Gomes leave.Yes he’s blundered but how many games has he won for us..love him. The team is at the moment picking its self. Benni and Walker are shoe ins. Bassong total lack of confidence and form. Dawsons injury,Gallas and Kings age and fitness are against them, Kaboul in my mind is as good as it gets. He’s getting better by the game and versatile to boot.We need another CH the Ajax fella seems to fit the bill for our ambition. We are truly spoilt in midfield.Modric,Bale and Parker are godsends. Sandro deserves to play every game.Lennon makes me pull my hair out.Huddlestone I feel will be allowed to leave as soon as he kicks up a fuss (he hasn’t yet).Then we have the little matter of Krancjar,Pienaar,Livermore,Townsend,Carroll
wanting minutes.Not forgetting VdV is officially a midfielder.So we don’t need Hazard !!
Upfront get Ade signed up,stick with Defoe and make that headline signing.We are a rich club and made a few quid from the CL last year.Levy spend it on tweeking what we’ve already got. Been supporting Spurs since 1963 when I lived in Park Lane and my god I’ve seen some utter shite pull on our shirt,so I’m really quite happy with what we’ve got at the moment. The League before I die please
Imagine Hazard playing behind say Adebayor or Damiao. Vdv is quality but i would hazard a guess that he will stay for another 2years. Hazard is very quick and skillfull, he would be mouthwatering.