da casino： Tottenham’s early season form in 2015-16 suggests that the North London outfit have strengthened well in the summer and are placed to seriously challenge for a top-four berth.
da premier bet： From an attacking perspective, the addition of Son Heung-min looks like an astute move from the White Hart Lane side, with the South Korea international able to play a supporting role or as a main striker.
Clinton N’jie still looks like a raw talent with room to develop, but with Christian Eriksen, Son, Nacer Chadli and a rejuvenated Mousa Dembele, Spurs have options in their attacking midfield positions.
That said, looking at the success of Yevhen Konoplyanka at Sevilla will represent a missed opportunity for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
The Ukraine international has starred for his country and former club Dnipro over the years, leading to plenty of rumblings linking the skilful winger with a move to England.
Spurs were one of the teams mentioned as possible suitors of Konoplyanka, with a scramble for his services earlier this year with his contract with Dnipro expiring in the summer.
With no shortage of offers, the 26-year-old opted for a move to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and has been starring for Sevilla in his first couple of months in Spanish football.
The Ukrainian has scored twice and provided three assists so far in La Liga this season, putting in some superb individual performances in the process for Unai Emery’s men.
He has also stood out in the Champions League, scoring against Manchester City and showing his calibre to perform on the biggest stage.
Against Real Madrid recently, where Sevilla beat the capital city giants 3-2 on home soil, Konoplyanka terrorised the Madrid defence and gave opposite number Danilo the slip on repeated occasion.
His turn of pace, trickery and ability to improvise was evident against Rafa Benitez’s men, with the visitors struggling to contain the eastern European down Sevilla’s left.
Over the years Konoplyanka has shown that he has the versatility to play on a flank or as a support striker, with this versatility essential in Ukraine’s progression to Euro 2016 this week.
For Spurs, the 26-year-old’s addition would have been specifically beneficial for a number of reasons.
Firstly, despite the technical ability and footballing intelligence to play centrally, Konoplyanka would have offered real width for Spurs.
A winger keen to take on opposition full-backs and hug the touchline, the Ukrainian’s skillset is unique to the current options at Pochettino’s disposal and would have helped to offer Spurs a different threat and create space.
Secondly, Konoplyanka’s ability to act as a threat on the counter attack with his devastating pace and incisive running with and without the ball would have complemented the existing attacking players in Tottenham’s squad.
With the gifted playmaker available on a free transfer but now worth a considerable amount of money, had Spurs pounced they would have landed arguably the bargain of the summer.
The North London club may well have been burnt in the past with Ukrainian players, with Sergei Rebrov still remembered as a joke figure after his big-money move from Dynamo Kiev did not work out.
However, with Konoplyanka thriving for Sevilla both in La Liga and on the continent, Spurs may well be rueing not moving for him over the off-season.
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