Tim Sherwood does not agree with Tottenham and Arsenal’s transfer policy, suggesting they have stockpiled ‘average’ foreigners in recent seasons.
Arsenal and Tottenham recruited plenty of players, foreigners included, spending big transfer fees on multiple stars this summer. The Gunners signed six first-team stars, totalling nearly £150 million, while Tottenham spent upwards of £60 million on numerous recruits.
Both clubs have commonly kept up with the theme of signing young players within a specific age profile, while their rivals, barring Liverpool, have spent big on experienced or established stars. The north London clubs decided to splash the money on multiple players rather than focusing on a certain star signing.
Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Aaron Ramsdale, etc., joined Arsenal, as Mikel Arteta seems to be planning for the club’s future. Meanwhile, Spurs signed Emerson Royal, Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero, among others, to give them more squad depth and invest in the future.
Former Spurs manager Tim Sherwood delivered a critical assessment over the two north London clubs’ transfer policy. He stated they had recruited terribly, accusing them of stockpiling ‘average’ foreigners while ignoring some actual quality players in the process.
Sherwood said, “Both teams’ recruitment has been terrible. Both clubs are signing average foreign players that block up pathways to their academy players, and I don’t agree with that. It’s not healthy. I can’t remember the last time they signed a really good player. It’s been so long. I can’t really put my finger on any recent signings and say, ‘Yeah, he’s been a brilliant signing’.
“Tottenham’s best recent signing would be Son Heung-min, but you’re going way back there. Hojbjerg is alright with the style Jose Mourinho wanted to play and certainly the way Nuno [Espirito Santo] wants to play, but for every half-decent signing, you’ve probably got five not very good ones.
“Arsenal bring in the likes of Martin Odegaard, he’s a good footballer, but you’ve already got Emile Smith Rowe in that area. They let Joe Willock go to Newcastle – and if Arsenal ever needed a player that was a goalscoring midfielder… Willock showed in a cameo role off the bench for Newcastle how effective he can be in the Premier League. I scratch my head when I look at both Arsenal and Tottenham’s recruitment.”
Understandably, the signings are no world beaters yet, but they have been at the clubs just a few months now. Every player, especially younger ones, need time to bed in and adapt to their new surroundings. The pundit’s assessment seems far-fetched, without any actual evidence these are ‘average’ players, considering they are yet to play to their full potential.
Sherwood also recently suggested Cristiano Ronaldo could be Manchester United manager in 18 months, so we shall leave his assessment at that.
