Kieran Trippier heads a list of 12 players Tottenham will consider selling this summer as part of a dramatic overhaul of their squad.
Spurs are not under pressure to sell before they can buy, but manager Mauricio Pochettino is aware of a need to help finance their spending by streamlining his squad after the club committed £1billion to their stunning 62,062-seat stadium, which officially opened on Wednesday.
Standard Sport can reveal that Trippier and Serge Aurier — the club’s two senior right-backs — are among the players that will be made available.
The pair have been in disappointing form this season but it is nevertheless a remarkable fall from grace for Trippier, who was one of England’s standout performers in their run to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia.
However, the 28-year-old admitted in an interview with Standard Sport last month that “I could have done a lot better this season” and the view among Pochettino and his staff is that an upgrade is required in the position if buyers for Trippier and Aurier can be found.
Crystal Palace youngster Aaron Wan-Bissaka (below, being challenged by Danny Rose) is a possible target. Tottenham also want to sign a central midfielder but have yet to identify a potential replacement.
Spurs were willing to allow Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld to depart last summer, only for interest in the pair not to be realised — with Manchester United particularly keen on the Belgian, though formal bids were not received — while squad players Vincent Janssen, Fernando Llorente, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Victor Wanyama would be sold if the right offer came in.
It is thought the other names on the list include Erik Lamela and Moussa Sissoko, but only if substantial bids were made.
It remains to be seen what decision is taken on midfield playmaker Christian Eriksen (below) who, like Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, will enter the final 12 months of his existing contract this summer.
Talks with Eriksen’s representatives over an extension stalled some time ago.
Real Madrid are among the clubs to have been linked with the Dane, and Eriksen could depart if Spurs opt to cash in and are able to identify a suitable replacement.
It is, of course, unlikely that all 12 will be sold, but the widespread availability of so many players is driven by Pochettino’s desire to take the club to the next level following the belated opening of their new stadium.
Twice this week alone, Pochettino reiterated his opinion that the club have to start thinking on a bigger scale and, by way of example, cited the spending power of Liverpool in the context of Tottenham’s own net outlay, which stands at £27.3m since he took charge at White Hart Lane in May, 2014.
“I was talking with [chairman] Daniel [Levy] after Sunday’s Liverpool game about the very good action of [Virgil] Van Dijk [when the defender helped stop Sissoko from scoring late on],” Pochettino said.
“Van Dijk was £75m 18 months ago. The goalkeeper [Alisson] was £70m. They had two midfielders on the bench [Naby Keita and Fabinho], who they spent about £100m on in the summer.
“People sometimes say that Tottenham are like Liverpool. In what? Yes, we are going to be better than Liverpool, because we have a better stadium and a better training ground, but it’s another thing to compete [with them] as we need to operate, maybe, similar to them in the future or not.”
