Five Transfer Decisions Tottenham Hotspur Got Wrong This Summer | OneFootball

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur made a string of significant calls throughout the summer transfer window, with reinforcements arriving across the pitch as they looked to recover from a disappointing 17th-place finish last season.

Roberto De Zerbi was given substantial backing, with the club spending more than £300m on reinforcements, with ten players arriving from fellow Premier League sides. The Italian boss also made it clear that he wants only fully committed players in his squad, leading to several departures for those seeking a fresh challenge.

Inside Futbol take a closer look at the decisions made over the past few months and assess where the Lilywhites made five transfer decisions that were wrong.

1. Luka Vuskovic’s departure for Brighton

Vuskovic arrived at Tottenham last summer before immediately heading out to Hamburg in pursuit of the regular first-team football. The decision proved a masterstroke, with the youngster flourishing into one of European football’s most intriguing emerging centre-backs.

He ended the campaign not only as a commanding presence at the back but also as a genuine threat in the final third, weighing in with six goals.

The 19-year-old’s stock had risen so dramatically that it was said even a £60m offer would not be enough to prise him away from north London. Yet, remarkably, Spurs allowed precisely that scenario to unfold.

When the summer window opened, Tottenham initially rejected a move from Brighton, but Vuskovic’s desire for consistent minutes ultimately paved the way for a switch to the Seagulls, with the deal worth £50m.

Spurs have protected themselves to some extent with a 20 per cent sell-on clause and matching rights over any potential future transfer.

Nevertheless, allowing such a highly rated teenager to leave while clubs of Bayern Munich and Barcelona’s calibre are circling represents a worrying decision for the Londoners. A loan spell, rather than a permanent departure, should surely have been the preferred route.

2. Sale Of Will Lankshear To Middlesbrough

De Zerbi’s preference for immediate results is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, with the departure of another highly promising youngster offering further evidence of his short-term approach. Lankshear, who has been part of the club since 2022 and has six senior appearances to his name for the north Londoners, including a Europa League debut, completed a move to Middlesbrough.

Like Vuskovic, the 21-year-old striker spent last season away from north London, joining Oxford United on loan and describing his time with the Championship outfit as a ‘blessing’. The former Spurs forward finished his spell with the U’s in impressive fashion, registering 12 goals and four assists across all competitions.

He now finds himself on the books of Boro and has already made an impressive early impact, scoring seven goals in seven games, with Spurs facing criticism for letting him go.

Tottenham sanctioned his departure in a £20m package while retaining a 20 per cent sell-on clause and matching rights on any future bids. However, by letting him go, Spurs may have missed the chance to develop a valuable asset and potentially lost control of his future, as he may well want a move elsewhere if he does leave Midddlesbrough.

At 6ft 2in with a proven eye for goal, Lankshear has the tools to become a formidable frontman, making his departure a gamble that could come back to haunt the north Londoners.

3. Rusty Mykhaylo Mudryk Arriving On Loan

The north London side waved goodbye to Manor Solomon, who completed a permanent move to West Ham United, while Mikey Moore departed on loan to Koln, leaving Tottenham with reinforcements needed on the left flank ahead of the new season.

Liverpool star Cody Gakpo and new Manchester City signing Iliman Ndiaye were among the names on the wishlist, but neither deal materialised, ultimately leading De Zerbi to push for a loan move for Mudryk. The Ukrainian joined with an option to buy for £75m, although his arrival comes with a significant question mark after he went almost two years without featuring following a doping ban.

Mudryk is, however, a familiar face to De Zerbi, having played under the Italian during the peak of his career at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he made 44 appearances and registered 29 goal involvements.

Spurs, and De Zerbi in particular, will be hoping Mudryk can rediscover that level of production. Even so, his arrival represents a sizeable step down from the club’s initial targets in Gakpo and Ndiaye, both of whom have already showcased their quality at the World Cup.

Tottenham could well come to regret letting their previous options leave without bringing in a comparable replacement, but only time will tell whether the decision comes back to haunt them.

4. Kota Takai Moving On Loan To The Belgian Pro League

Takai arrived in N17 last summer but is yet to make a competitive appearance for the Lilywhites, having spent last season on loan in Germany at Borussia Monchengladbach. He has now headed to Belgium for another temporary spell, joining Sint-Truiden.

His stint in the Bundesliga proved a frustrating one, with the defender making just eight appearances and playing fewer than 340 minutes. Despite being backed publicly by sporting director Rouven Schroder, the stint will have told Tottenham little more than they already knew.

His move for the season is a strange one on paper, but the decision was influenced by Takai’s familiarity with former team-mate Shogo Taniguchi, as well as his appreciation of the Canaries’ playing style.

However, Spurs may have been better served sending the 22-year-old somewhere he could enjoy regular minutes while adapting to a similar tempo and intensity to the Premier League. Dropping down to the Championship, or even heading to Scotland, would have been a better fit.

When Takai finishes his Belgium loan, will Tottenham really know all that much about where his progress stands? On that front, it feels like an opportunity the north Londoners could have handled better.

5. Selling Djed Spence With No Appropriate Cover For Pedro Porro

Porro returns to Tottenham on the back of a World Cup-winning campaign with Spain, having played a key role in their success and putting himself firmly in line to reclaim his place in the starting eleven at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spence, meanwhile, was unwilling to settle for a supporting role after also enjoying an impressive tournament with England and was sold to Inter Milan for a fee in the region of £26m.

When the window slammed shut, however, the Lilywhites had failed to bring in adequate cover for the Spaniard, meaning that should Porro be unavailable for any reason, Archie Gray appears to be the only realistic alternative.

Gray played a significant role in last season’s campaign, showcasing his versatility and industry with 24 appearances across the season. But should another injury crisis sweep through north London as it did last term, Spurs would have just two players capable of filling in at right-back.

Whether De Zerbi will need that extra depth without European football remains to be seen, but it is a problem the Lilywhites would have been better off addressing and they should have either kept Spence or brought in another pure right-back.

De Zerbi clearly has the here and now in his thoughts ahead of longer term planning and, realistically, who can blame him? The pressure is on to get results and push Spurs back into the upper reaches of the Premier League. Asking the club to get every transfer call over a summer window right is perhaps too much, but there have been cases where the counter argument to doing a deal is strong and now only time will tell