International Observations – Current Players, Rumored Targets, and Potential Prospects

Article by e-Spurs Writer Brent Weber (USA)

The season is unfortunately over but thankfully International play has ramped up to fill my soccer void. In addition to the Confederations Cup, there has been a solid schedule of World Cup qualifiers, International friendlies, as well as the UEFA U-21 championships. I’ve had the chance to watch several of these International matches. Some of the matches included current Spurs, some included rumoured Spurs targets, and some included prospects that Spurs should start monitoring.

Lewis Holtby

I was not overly impressed with the signing of Holtby in January. I had never seen him play in The Bundesliga and he wasn’t the big name I was hoping for during the transfer window.  Since joining Spurs, his playing time was limited and he appeared to be unprepared for Premier League Play. However, watching him during his recent Germany U21 matches has made me a Holtby believer. He was easily the best player on the field during the 2 matches I watched. He is slightly undersized and not a naturally gifted athlete, but he makes up for these shortcomings with natural playmaking ability and tremendous effort. I am now convinced that he will make a positive impact for Spurs next season and for seasons to come!

Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen

Dembele is just pure quality! He is quickly becoming one of my favourite Spurs players. He was a work horse for us in the midfield and does the same for Belgium. He didn’t play significant minutes in the friendly against the USA but it was still easy to see his dominance against the US midfield. I can’t wait to see him back in action with Sandro in the upcoming campaign. They will be a dominating midfield duo!

I am convinced that Vertonghen is a CB and not an option for us at LB. He seemed uncomfortable at LB for Spurs and he looked equally out of place at LB for Belgium against the USA. Once he moved back to CB in the friendly vs. USA, he really picked up his play. He is a top notch CB and I hope he stays at Spurs for several seasons.

In my opinion, Belgium is as talented as any team in the International field. They are young and inexperienced, but I predict they will make a nice run in the 2014 World Cup!

We need Soldado!

Roberto Soldado is just what Spurs need in the summer transfer window. His finish against Uruguay was just clinical! My prediction is that he scores at least 3 more goals in this Confederations Cup. He is a proven goal scorer and plays in a quality league which makes the transition into the Premier League easier. Levy and AVB need to recruit him relentlessly, offer him a good wage package, and convince him that his future is at White Hart Lane. In my opinion, he should be a high priority target for Spurs.

Paulinho

This weekend was the first time I actually watched Paulinho play and he is a top notch attacking player. He would quickly add quality to Spurs with his creativity and playmaking ability. A 4-3-3 with Sandro, Paulinho, and Dembele would simply be incredible! Paulinho would be worth every bit of the rumoured £17 million. Strikers are our highest priority so I’m not sure Levy and AVB are ready to break the bank on a midfielder. There are reports that he has already signed a pre-contract with Inter, so we need to move quickly to get his signature. I would absolutely love to add Paulinho to the roster to start next season and I hope the rumours are true that we are submitting a bid this week. Strengthening the midfield is definitely our 2^nd priority this summer.

Jozy Altidore

There are several players that have impressed me during this stretch of international play, but most of these are known commodities that bigger clubs are already tracking. One player that is not as well known internationally is Jozy Altidore. I promise I am not crazy and not biased because I’m American. I’m not saying that Spurs should go out and sign Jozy Altidore. However, I am convinced he has big upside because of his frame, his pace, and his athleticism. Spurs should at least keep tabs on him during these World Cup qualifiers and next season with AZ Alkmaar of the Eredivisie. He is in good form with the US National Team and totalled 31 goals in all competitions last season with AZ Alkmaar. His club will be playing in the Europa League next season so the bigger clubs will get to see him in action against better competition. At 23 years old, he is still raw as a soccer player, but he is developing into a striker with a nose for goals. If he continues his current goal scoring form, some team will make a relatively cheap gamble on this young American, so it might as well be Spurs. 

International play is a great platform to watch our current players and see some of our rumoured targets in action. I really enjoy watching the International matches involving our current players because I get to see them in different roles as well as different positions. Most importantly, I get to watch players that I haven’t seen in real action, compared to reading about them. Hopefully, Spurs will use this International play to scout, evaluate, and sign quality players to bolster our line-up for next season.

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