Premier League 2017-18: Ranking the transfer windows of all 20 teams
By James Dudko
5. Tottenham
Notable Ins: Serge Aurier, Fernando Llorente, Davinson Sanchez, Juan Foyth
Notable Outs: Kyle Walker, Kevin Wimmer, Clinton N’Jie
Tottenham kept their best players and safeguarded themselves against more departures defensively in the near future.
Spurs sold Kyle Walker for an eye-watering £50 million. But the north London club secured a quality replacement in Serge Aurier for £23 million, per Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports.
The Ivory Coast international has had his problems off the pitch, but he can be terrific on it. Aurier possesses the pace and devilish delivery from the flanks to help fans quickly forget about Walker.
Signing two more defenders also made sense. Club-record buy Davinson Sanchez can play in the middle or at full-back. He offers cover should disgruntled Danny Rose or Toby Alderweireld, who is yet to agree a new contract, leave next summer.
On top of bringing in some intriguing newcomers, Spurs also retained the key cogs of this squad. Striker Harry Kane, attacking midfielder Dele Alli and holding player Eric Dier are all still in the fold.
If there is one blot on the Tottenham copybook, it’s the decision not to reinforce creative ranks often too reliant on Alli and Christian Eriksen. Spurs will regret the oversight if their attacking stars run out of steam over the course of a long season.
Tottenham did at least secure a more capable deputy for Kane in the form of Llorente.