'No' To Aston Villa's Ashley Young For Tottenham Hotspur In The January Transfer Window

With the transfer window now officially open, all sorts of names will be ‘linked’ to Tottenham Hotspur. One type of player who are consistently ‘linked’ to Tottenham are overpriced, overrated English players. We’ve had Scott Parker, and now it’s the turn of Ashley Young.

I wonder if my fellow Tottenham fans recall how the club passed on him for £9m when Watford effectively gave us first dibs?  He clearly wanted to join us, but we weren’t interested in him. As a club we’ve progressed on the pitch without him and I’m near certain we can go to the next level without him either.

If we were to sign Young, where would he fit? On the left wing, he flatters to deceive. However, if Gareth Bale gets injured on the left, we have Niko Kranjcar who can operate there and flourished in that position last season. We also know Luka Modric can do a job there, and we’ve recalled the promising Andros Townsend, whose a natural left footed winger. Editor's note: And you didn't even mention Danny Rose.

On the right, we have Aaron Lennon who is far more decisive in his wing play. Young is a player whose always caught in two minds, that kind of style stagnates the play. He has a very limited skill set and his crossing on either wing isn’t exactly stellar. Also, I’m sure you’ve all noted how Young hasn’t impressed ‘in the hole’ this season at all. Do we really want to invest in a player who is average at best across all attacking positions?

If it weren’t for his pace, I’m convinced Young still be at Watford or somewhere else down in the Football League, not in the Premiership. When you make a new signing, you must always look to upgrade. I don’t think signing Young would be an upgrade to our current squad at all.

Furthermore, remember how Harry Redknapp openly pursued Joe Cole this summer? The same Cole who operates in the same positions as Young? That’s because Cole would’ve been an upgrade to our current ranks and would have added further quality to our already stellar squad. There’s a reason why Cole had been featuring on the left wing for England and not Young. Cole has actual quality. He possesses skill and technique. Young does not.

I’ve always found this Young transfer talk quite fanciful, with Real Madrid, Manchester United, and now Tottenham Hotspur pursuing him. Really? Let’s avoid him (and Steven Pienaar, for that matter) and look for real quality players who would be happy to compete with Bale for a starting berth.

Lastly, when Redknapp wants a player, the whole world and his dog will know. I’ve referenced Cole, Van der Vaart, and now Beckham are players who Redknapp made it clear to everyone how much he rated them and wanted them. Young? Redknapp hasn’t even bothered to deny it! Apart from the standard ‘He’s a good player’ you’ve got to pay respect of course. If Redknapp wanted Young we’d all know, he doesn’t, we shouldn’t, and thus we should all focus our attentions on retaining Kranjcar (somehow) or look elsewhere. No to Ashley Young.