We are enduring that same fun like we do every Summer where we start the window with expectations only to see them quickly vanish. If you are like me at the end of last season I was proud of the strides the team took but at the same time was saddened that we were unable to take the final step and win a trophy.
We dominated Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final but their match winners scored with every chance and it was a hard pill to swallow however to me it illustrated our need to make a signing that would be game changing. A player like a Van Der Vaart. A marque signing that would not only lift the quality of the first eleven, the squad but lift the entire club like only a big signing can.
Last summer we were linked with Isco, a player that we all thought would be that BIG player however his performances since the link to us have been very impressive and so is now likely to remain at Real Madrid. We also then saw us have a strong interest in French forward / winger Thomas Lemar. Once again a player who could be the difference… sadly once again we learn we will not be following up on our interest in this player.
I made a joke on Twitter about two weeks ago. I said; “At the start of the window we all expect Barkley, Lemar and Isco but by the end we are trying to convince ourselves Fabian Delph is a quality signing.” Now this was not meant as a dig at Delph, a tidy player however I think we can all agree when we are hoping for a marque signing that is not the name we would be hoping for.
This piece I know reads like I am bitter or annoyed. I am simply saying I believe we are one big signing away from winning trophies. Without that I fear we might be stuck in the “nearly men” category and that worries me as it comes to retaining players. I no longer want to see stars leave us, I want to see stars joining.
For years as we battled in the Europa League and had our sights set on the top four we accepted we couldn’t sign top players as they all demanded Champions League football… however now we are offering that it seems it is and perhaps always was in fact about the money.
So now we are in a position where we know our money is restricted due to the new stadium however we are (if all goes to plan) only one season away from being in the new ground. Does that mean we can finally compete with the top paying clubs and sign these players? I know many who dislike Daniel Levy fear he will simply never invest like other chairman and therefore we will always fall behind.
Time will tell, but focusing on this window there is a way to go yet and if we signed no one and retained our players I would be ok. It appears Kyle Walker will be leaving us and that will give us money to spend. All I ask is if we are unable to sign a top player we focus on picking up a Wanyama and never again last minute risk like Sissoko.
….. a young talented French winger anyone?
-SJ
