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With the January transfer window now closed, it’s time for Tottenham to start planning their summer recruitment – and before anything else comes the Bosman market.

The rule, first created in 1995 by the European Court of Justice to allow footballers to move freely upon the expiration of their contracts, has completely changed where power lies in the beautiful game. It’s now the players – not the clubs – that have the upper hand.

Not that clubs like Spurs can’t benefit from picking up players on free transfers – in fact, quite the opposite. And with that in mind, we’ve listed the FIVE contract rebels the Lilywhites should be looking to add to their squad this summer.

YEVHEN KONOPLYANKA

One coveted contract rebel Tottenham fans will already be familiar with is Dnipro winger Yevhen Konoplyanka, who was heavily linked with a White Hart Lane switch last season and again in the January transfer window.

Having monopolised the Ukrainian Player of the Year award between 2010 and 2013, winning it thrice, and also claimed the Ukrainian Premier League’s Player of the Year award for 2013, the 25 year-old is widely considered to be one of the top talents outside of Europe’s five leading top flights – originally gaining continental notoriety for his stunning goal against England at Wembley in 2012.

He boasts an impressive return of 32 goals in 149 league appearances for Dnipro, but the Ukraine international is better famed for his playmaking abilities, often drifting into the channels from wide positions to create scoring opportunities.

Konoplyanka’s best position remains the left wing – which is exactly what Tottenham need this summer. Although many have been impressed with the goalscoring form of Nacer Chadli this season, the Dnipro talisman represents an unequivocal upgrade in that department, and a more feasible option long-term.

He turned down a move to Roma during the January window according to the Daily Star, likely leaving the Lilywhites to battle it out with fellow suitors Liverpool for his signature this summer.

ANDRE-PIERRE GIGNAC

Despite the recent heroics of Harry Kane, Tottenham’s front-line desperately requires a reshuffle this summer, bringing in new faces to replace the unwanted Emmanuel Adebayor and £27million flop Roberto Solado – who have netted just thrice between them in the Premier League this term.

One bosman-based solution comes in the form of Andre-Pierre Gignac, currently amid the best for of his career with 16 goals in 24 appearances across all competitions for Marseille. That includes a 14-goal haul in the league, which has fired L’OM to second in the Ligue 1 table.

In terms of strength and height, the 6 foot 1 striker – once heckled with jeers of ‘un Big Mac pour Gignac’ regarding his weight – is perfect for the Premier League, and would certainly offer something a little different to Tottenham’s attacking line-up to the comparatively slender Kane.

The 19-cap-five-goal France international’s age, 29, might muffle Spurs’ interest somewhat. But available on a free contract come the summer, he could prove to be an astutely cheap short-term addition for the Lilywhites until a more permanent understudy to Kane is found.

LUIZ ADRIANO

Offering an equally costless alternative to Gignac is Shaktar Donetsk star Luiz Adriano, who’s currently leading the Champions League’s scoring charts with nine goals in just six appearances, eight of which came in back-to-back drubbings of BATE Borisov.

Throughout his career with the Ukrainian Champions, the Brazilian boasts a potent return of nearly one-in-two, or more specifically, 122 goals in 253 appearances – including 20 goals in just 25 league outings last season.

More than just firepower however, Adriano offers all the power, pace and directness one could want in a Premier League striker, and his recent form has earned a place in the Brazil national team, suggesting he could be on the verge of advancing his game to a higher level.

That also would likely require a move to a more competitive league and there’s plenty of clubs reportedly willing to offer him that opportunity, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Roma.

Tottenham would be wise to weigh in, but a lack of involvement in the Champions League does put them at a significant disadvantage.

WINSTON REID

Now into the final six months of his contract and unlikely to qualify for European football with eighth-place West Ham this season, star defender Winston Reid will almost certainly be plying his trade with another Premier League club next year.

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In fact, some sources claim he’s already agreed a move to White Hart Lane and although the New Zealand international may not be the most talented centre-back to represent the Lilywhites in technical terms, he’s an undisputed master of the nuts and bolts of the defensive trade, bringing a new sense of grittiness and physicality to Tottenham’s backline.

Whether the rumours prove true, however, remains to be seen. The 26 year-old has also been strongly linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United throughout the season, so the Lane is hardly the only Premier League destination on his radar.

FABIAN SCHAR

Although Winston Reid remains an impressive centre-back option for any top half Premier League club, in my opinion, FC Basel prodigy Fabian Schar, also yet to extend his contract past the summer, constitutes a far superior potential signing for the Lilywhites.

Indeed, the 23 year-old recorded the best statistics of any centre-half involved in the Champions League last term, averaging a near incredible 3.3 tackles, 4 interceptions and 6.7 clearances per match, and continued to impress in the tournament this year with a Man of the Match performance against Liverpool in Group B.

That impressive form, combined with a front-footed style, the confidence to bring the ball out of the back with striking similarities to Jan Vertonghen, and some decent performances for Switzerland at the World Cup, has generated plenty of interest in the Bebbi star however, with Arsenal, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Spurs all linked to his signature throughout the season.

Manchester United are still confident of signing Crystal Palace winger Wilfied Zaha this month despite interest from Arsenal according to the Daily Mail.

Arsene Wenger this week publicly admitted that he is looking at the possibility of bringing Zaha to the Emirates before February along with Edinson Cavani.

However, United believe they are still in the driving seat for the pacey wingers signature after reopening talks with the South London club this week.

Palace initially rejected an opening bid of £6million from Sir Alex Ferguson but the Red Devils are planning to go back with a tempting £10million offer than would include Zaha remaining at the Championship club this season to help them towards promotion.

Zaha tweeted last week that he was on his way to the top of the Premier League before quickly deleting it, hinting that United’s talks have gone well.

Arsenal will need to outbid United in order to keep Zaha in the capital.

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Liverpool midfielder James Milner has lavished praise on Reds teammate Andrew Robertson, claiming that the full-back ‘has been brilliant’ this season.

Robertson joined Liverpool from Hull City in last summer’s transfer window, and initially struggled for action due to Alberto Moreno’s presence at left-back.

An injury to Moreno in December opened the door for Robertson, however, and the Scotland international has been an ever-present for Jurgen Klopp’s team in recent weeks.

Indeed, the 24-year-old has started each of his team’s last nine Premier League matches, and made his Champions League debut in the 5-0 win over Porto last month.

Milner has said that Robertson’s qualities both offensively and defensively have made him a key player for the Reds during the 2017-18 campaign.

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Milner told Premier League Productions in quotes carried by Liverpool’s official website:

“Robbo has been brilliant. I’ll help where I can but he’s a good player – he has shown that going forward and defensively as well. Sometimes you just see him going forward but he does some great work defensively as well.

“He is a great lad to have around the dressing room. He is similar to how he plays on the pitch, a bubbly character. We love that as a group, it’s fantastic.”

Robertson, who is currently on Scotland duty, is expected to be in the Liverpool XI for Saturday’s trip to struggling Crystal Palace.

Its taken four months, 13 Premier League fixtures, five defeats and the introduction of three academy products, but Tottenham are finally beginning to resemble a Mauricio Pochettino side.

Their 2-1 home victory over Everton on Sunday was inspired by the blend of passion, tenacity, organisation and elegance that became synonymous with the Argentine at Southampton. The second goal particularly; a full-blooded tackle from Harry Kane deep in Everton’s half was quickly turned into the deciding strike, with Aaron Lennon providing and the misfortunate Roberto Soldado netting his first Premier League goal of the campaign.

Yet, there’s still a long way to go before Tottenham become the bona fide ‘Pochettenham’ that the manager, the fans, the players and the boardroom dream of. Clearly his ideas are beginning to transition into positive results – even the infamously slender, elusive and inconsistent Christian Eriksen appears to be buying into the more industrious side of things – but the weakness of Spurs’ starting line-up against Everton said it all.

There’s nothing wrong with giving first team opportunities to young players – in fact, quite the opposite – but if Pochettino felt he had a genuine choice in the matter, it’s unlikely a midfield partnership of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb, boasting just 26 Premier League appearances between them, would have been selected against the Toffees at the weekend. The same can be said for fan favourite Harry Kane – a promising prospect by all means, but one still way off the standard you’d expect to be starting regularly at a top six Premier League club.

Of course, whilst they provide passion, grit and local connection, growing in confidence and stature as the supporting volume around White Hart Lane swirled louder and louder, those left out of the starting line-up to face Everton are worryingly less responsive to both Pochettino and the fans.

Mousa Dembele, Etienne Capoue, Emmanuel Adebayor, Erik Lamela and Paulinho, who cost the club around £61million in transfers and an unimaginable amount in wages, were the notable exclusions as Spurs produced their first genuine Pochettino performance of the season – although the latter South Americans were both brought in the last half an hour.

Clearly, if this manner of performance is to become Tottenham’s defining philosophy long-term, Pochettino needs Daniel Levy’s backing in the transfer market.

This did NOT happen by any stretch of the imagination during the summer. £32million spent – just £8million net – is an incredibly modest budget for an incoming manager, especially considering £3million was devoted to a signing that won’t actually be at Pochettino’s disposal until January at the earliest, DeAndre Yedlin, and another £4million went on a back-up goalkeeper.

It speaks volumes about control of transfer policy at White Hart Lane that injury-free £4.7million signing Benjamin Stambouli, signed on deadline day as an alternative to Morgan Schneiderlin, hasn’t featured in the Premier League since his September debut.

So if Pochettino can make a Pochettino side out of players he inherited, signings he had little part in and youngsters – one of which, Mason, didn’t see the light of day under the last three manages at White Hart Lane – imagine what Spurs could be capable of with a squad tailored by him personally.  The areas that require immediate addressing in January are already obvious; the strike force, the heart of midfield, the left wing.

And it’s not only on the incoming front where Pochettino needs full backing from the board. If his ideas are to truly take effect and not become lost in the more apathetic areas of the squad, the Tottenham manager must be given complete say on who is moved on too. Some faces, like Dembele, unfortunately just don’t fit, whilst others, like Adebayor, just aren’t fit for purpose.

Perhaps you could make this argument for any club with a new manager, but for Tottenham it has particular resonance; their transfer model of buying European prospects for future profits, purchasing players seemingly for financial reasons alone, is the corrosive disease that engulfed Andre Villas-Boas’ regime and up until last weekend, appeared to be eating away at Pochettino’s too.

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However, there are signs already that Levy will support Pochettino when the January window arrives, albeit with some compromise. Last week, Spurs secured the services of former Southampton Head of Recruitment Paul Mitchell – someone who not only fits into the Lane’s current management structure, but also boasts a proven track record of working with Pochettino.

That’s certainly a step in the right direction, so now the ultimate question is finance. Tottenham have generated a net spend of negative-£13million since summer 2010 and clearly, fingers were singed by the fire that was Spurs’ £110million spree after Gareth Bale’s departure to Real Madrid. But if he wants Pochettino to be a long-term success in north London, Levy must think big – and that needs to be reflected in the Lilywhites’ transfer budgets over the next two windows.

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Darren Fletcher has attributed Manchester United’s Premier League form to a “never-say-die” attitude.

The Red Devils have had to come from behind to win on numerous occasions this season, due to defensive frailties, but still sit atop the table.

Traditionally, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men perform well during the hectic festive schedule, and Fletcher believes that it will be no different this year due to the opposition being wary of their attacking strength:

“The never-say-die attitude is ingrained in this club,” he is quoted by SkySports.

“It comes from the players, who believe in themselves, and opposition teams, who fear it.

“The club has such a history of it you almost expect it to happen. We have a great bunch of players with a great attitude.

“We will fight right to the very end. And the history of the club definitely plays a part.

“There is a psychological factor of going into the last 10 minutes knowing United will throw everything at them. They withdraw because they realise what is coming.”

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The Scotland international went on to state that keeping calm has been key in scoring late goals:

“We are very patient. It is not route one and it is always with a purpose. We get the ball wide and try to create chances. Long may it continue.”

Leeds fans do not think Caleb Ekuban is good enough for the club, after the striker revealed all on his injuries and goal drought.

Ekuban moved to Elland Road last summer from Italian side Chievo Verona. The 23 year-old had enjoyed an extremely successful loan spell at Albanian side Partizani Tirana, where he had grabbed 17 goals in league games.

The Ghanaian striker had high hopes when he joined Leeds, but told the Yorkshire Evening Post injuries “killed” his first year at the club.

“It’s been tough but it’s all about learning and growing up. I had a couple of injuries that, let’s say, killed the season for me personally, but now I’m back and I’m trying to find my rhythm,” Ekuban said.

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“I’ve had quite a lot of opportunities to play and I just hope to get the momentum going.”

The 23-year-old miss the first part of the season with a foot injury, only to break his foot almost immediately on his return to action. He returned once again in the 2-1 defeat at Sheffield Untied in February, but has failed to really cement a place since then.

“The more you play as a striker the more you feel confidence. That’s what I’m searching for and, hopefully, I can score one or two goals and have more confidence in myself. I just need to read situations better and have the chance to score.”

There’s no doubt the striker will be struggling for confidence, having started just six leagues games so far for Leeds, and still without a league goal. He nearly found the net against Reading on Saturday, and has vowed to start finding the net for his side.

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Leeds fans have been discussing the quotes on Twitter, and unfortunately for Ekuban it seems most have already given up.

Some of the best Twitter reaction can be found below…

Hugo Lloris is currently the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and he deserves to play in the Champions League to test himself against the very best.

The Frenchman won the Coupe de France in 2011-12 with Lyon and he was named ‘Goalkeeper of the Year’ for three years running in Ligue 1 from 08-09/10-11, before making the move to the Premier League to join Spurs. He isn’t the most decorated goalkeeper around, but he’s seemingly better now than ever before.

The 27-year-old signed a four-year contract extension in the summer, so he must be enjoying himself at White Hart Lane – but can he win trophies and/or play in the Champions League with Spurs in that time frame?

Tottenham Hotspur are on the up and more importantly the old ‘top-four’ is dissolving. It may be harder than ever for a side which isn’t Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Man United to win the title, but it seems more likely that “an outsider” can qualify for the Champions League. Spurs have by no means been as good as they can be, but they’ll be there or thereabouts come May. They’ll also very much have the chance to win either the Capital One Cup or FA Cup, and the Spurs fans may even expect a trophy this season. Tottenham are also in the Europa League, which isn’t quite as popular as the Champions League but winning it isn’t easy.

Hugo Lloris oozes class every time he walks on the pitch for club or country. He proves week-in-week-out that he is the most consistent player at Spurs and is currently the best shot-stopper in the Premier League. The statistics certainly back this up;

Comparing Lloris to a selection of the other top goalkeepers in the Premier League, the following is revealed:

Most Clean Sheets

David De Gea – 2

Hugo Lloris  –  3

Joe Hart – 2

Wojciech Szczesny – 1

Thibaut Courtois – 2

Goals Conceded

David De Gea – 10

Hugo Lloris – 7

Joe Hart – 5

Wojciech Szczesny – 9

Thibaut Courtois – 7

Saves Per Goal

David De Gea – 1.30

Hugo Lloris – 2.50

Joe Hart – 2.00

Wojciech Szczesny – 1.22

Thibaut Courtois – 1.17

Total Saves

David De Gea – 13

Hugo Lloris – 15

Joe Hart – 8

Wojciech Szczesny – 11

Thibaut Courtois – 7

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Distribution Accuracy (Distribution Length – average in metres)

David De Gea – 67% (46)

Hugo Lloris – 75% (50)

Joe Hart – 67% (37)

Wojciech Szczesny – 77% (43)

Thibaut Courtois – 57% (49)

If nothing else these statistics show that Lloris is an all-round good goalkeeper. He may not have the best distribution accuracy but he is very strong and he finds his Spurs teammates 75% of the time when kicking or throwing the ball after an attack breaks down. On average his distribution distance is the longest of the five goalkeepers.

Perhaps the most important statistic among the above however is ‘saves per goal’ – Hugo Lloris really is in a league of his own with this one. Compared to the others he is far and beyond the best shotstopper. There is no statistic to show how good the saves were but from watching all five, their job is rarely easy.

The French captain and Spurs vice-captain IS the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and I hope to see him in the Champions League – the big question is, will it be with Tottenham?

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Last weekend, Gareth Bale received yet another yellow card for diving rather than being awarded a penalty, despite the fact replays clearly showed the Welsh winger had been fouled. Liverpool’s Luis Suarez has shared a similar fate recently, with the Anfield club being awarded just one penalty this season.

Now, I don’t for a second believe either footballers are completely innocent individuals – Gareth Bale has a tendency to theatrically fall over as if he’s been mowed down by a hail of bullets in Normandy, losing his balance like Bamby on ice, while Suarez has a darker side to his game that often goes unpunished.

But there is little doubt that the media had a role to play in Bale’s booking against Sunderland, as notions of him being a serial diver have constantly circulated throughout the press in recent weeks. I find it bizarre how even a Welshman can be readily accused of diving but still there is little column inches dedicated to the English culprits, despite the fact Ashley Young has built a career out of anticipating a slightly over-reaching toe or a stuck out knee to claim a penalty or free kick – often already on a collision course with the ground below him before contact is even made by the opposing defender.

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You can argue Bale brings it on himself, and there is no smoke without fire. He’s created his own reputation, and therefore allowed the media the opportunity to collectively criticise him.

But then again, you could look at the press, not just in regards to football but in many aspects of modern life, and realise they have almost full control over the information we receive and therefore the opinions we form. Even if we have an opinion that fundamentally disagrees, it is still the media’s agenda that our opinions are based upon.

For example, the England team are constantly described as underperforming or unlucky in defeat. But very rarely do the press mention that Wayne Rooney has done nothing in an England shirt since he was a teenager. Also, the simple hypothesis that the Three Lions are just not that good, in comparison to a number of the other national teams seems to wash over the heads of the columnists and paper hacks. It’s not a mere coincidence that we reach a level in every competition where it becomes narrowed down to the top teams in the tournament and we fail to make it to the next round.

Back to the diving incident – we are routinely told that players, managers and referees don’t read the papers, yet it is a well known fact that there is a copy of every tabloid and broadsheet available to read in every training ground canteen, and a referee may be a unique and quirky type of person but it is hard to believe they shut themselves off from the footballing world from Sunday morning to Friday night.

So yes, the role of the media alarms me, or rather the nature of the media. It leads to witch-hunts and the widespread of a single opinion about an issue. A recent article by Paul Hayward in the Daily Telegraph declared English football had become “toxic” and was “spinning out of control” following the rise in awareness of racism and the coin throwing incident involving Rio Ferdinand; another piece of journalistic sensationalisation that does more harm than good in resolving the issues at hand.

Secondly, the one dimensional “Hero/Villian” structure of almost every football story, including during regular match analysis, doesn’t really give us any solid information or evaluation of events, just a simplification to avoid overcomplicating an issue and provide us with conforming entertainment. When is the last time two pundits on Match of the Day fundamentally disagreed with each other? It’s hardly balanced reporting.

Anyone who’s ever written an essay will known that almost every one can be summed up with a conclusion stressing the importance of considering a number of factors. But when is the last time you read a newspaper story that had more than one line of argument. Previously, it was “Bale the diver”, and now it will be “Ref gets it wrong”. Yet it is rarely mentioned, at least by the newspapers, although TV pundits who have played the game often refer to it, that refereeing is an incredibly difficult job, and many decisions must be made in a split second at high-octane speed.

And similarly, little attention is paid to the fact that Gareth Bale runs so fast that it is impossible to tell whether he’s making a meal of it or one small clip of the heels really did send him flying into the advertising boards. Furthermore, no one has even considered that if Bale didn’t go down, he would have been through on goal, or at least in a position to square the ball across the box to a team-mate, so why would he even want to go to ground? Just because he can?

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The problem occurs not only when the stories are simplified in a wholesale manner, creating a single opinion, but also when stereotypes such as “Englishmen don’t dive” and “referees are idiots” get mixed in along the way.

The fact is, controversy sells, and the English audience loves to hate – exactly why the pantomime of Big Brother was so successful. But if you want to know the truth; Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t kill JFK, red meat won’t give you bowel cancer and if Gareth Bale was born on the right side of the Bristol channel he would be “looking for a foul” at worst.

Media witch-hunting is created by misinformed, misguided, narrow minded and entertainment based reporting and it will slowly corrode and ruin the English game.

The Tottenham fans in and around the Transfer Tavern are soon hoping that new faces start to arrive at the new ground because otherwise Spurs will again be title challengers rather than true contenders. 

Having finished in the Champions League places once again, Tottenham have to ensure that the calibre of player they bring into the club is ready to be challenging for the title and Champions League success. Spurs have a great starting 11 but little in terms of depth, that’s why our punters think it’s very important that Tottenham recruit a player such as Valon Berisha, who is valued at £9 million on Transfermarkt.

Currently playing his football with Europa League semi-finalists RB Leipzig, Berisha, like the rest of his team-mates, enjoyed a successful season. The 25-year-old scored 13 goals and bagged 11 assists in all competitions during his 45 appearances, which happens to be a brilliant record for a winger.

Not only can Berisha be utilised in his favoured right-midfield position, he can also be selected to play in a role behind the striker, offering vital support to his team going forward. Tottenham don’t possess someone with that ability and buy signing Valon Berisha, although it’s not a high-profile name, could be an inspired move come the end of next season.

Especially useful for rotational and challenging the likes of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son for a space in the team, Berisha will be full of confidence after the amazing season he has just had and would be ready to show the Premier League what he is capable of.

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Should Tottenham take a risk with the 25-year-old… Let us know!

According to reports in The Mirror, West Ham United midfielder Pedro Obiang, rated at £8.1m by Transfermarkt, could be the subject of a summer bid from Serie A side Fiorentina.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that the Italian club are plotting a fresh move for the Spaniard having initially shown an interest in the 25-year-old during the January transfer window.

However, no deal materialised and Obiang has since been ruled out until the end of the season having picked up a knee injury in the 2-0 defeat against Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the DW Stadium last month.

The Mirror adds that Fiorentina want the midfielder to replace Milan Badelj, who looks likely to leave on a free transfer when his contract expires this summer.

How has Obiang done this season?

The Spaniard became a real key player for West Ham last term and finished third in the club’s Player of the Year award, but like many of his teammates he hasn’t shown the same level of performance this term.

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The 25-year-old often came under fire from the London Stadium faithful for his displays in the middle of the park, but he still made 26 appearances in all competitions prior to his injury.

Would West Ham sell him this summer?

If they received a good offer for the midfielder, they would probably consider it.

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The Mirror says that David Moyes is looking to bring two new midfielders to the club and if that is the case – and with the likes of Mark Noble, Manuel Lanzini and Cheikhou Kouyate already in their ranks – it could mean that at least one will be on their way out.

What’s the verdict, then?

Well, it seems certain that Moyes will look to shake-up his midfield options if he stays as manager this summer, and it would be no surprise to see Obiang sacrificed if the club receive good money for him from Fiorentina, with the Scottish boss looking to push the club on next season.