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Tottenham Hotspur need a left back. Danny Rose has proven capable and Jan Vertonghen is a decent fill-in, but it's not encouraging that a club challenging for top four has just one actual left back, and he's played around 50 Premier League games in the position. Spurs haven't been seriously linked to any left backs this window, which is concerning, so we compiled a list of left backs we could look into. They're separated into categories.
Crazy expensive and unrealistic
Luke Shaw - He's been pretty intent about not wanting to leave Southampton at the moment. Plus, if he does decide it's time to go, Chelsea will gazump us.
Leighton Baines - If he wouldn't leave for Manchester United, he's probably not leaving for us. Unless he just hates David Moyes.
Felipe - Atletico Madrid aren't selling a key player mid-season. Plus, they're about to get paid this summer for one of Diego Costa or Koke, if not both.
More realistic, but probably still too expensive
Alex Sandro - Porto would probably ask for somewhere in the neighborhood of £20m. There's a chance that Alex Sandro could become the best left back on earth, but that's a lot of money to pay for a guy who might not be a contributor right away.
Fabio Coentrao - Real Madrid might be more willing to sell him now than they were in the summer, but it's not like he suddenly got cheap. He'll still cost at least £15m and he might not be worth it.
Ricardo Rodriguez - VW is flush with cash and spending it on guys like Luiz Gustavo and Kevin De Bruyne. They're trying to win, not sell off good players.
Domenico Criscito - The same goes for Zenit, who don't need the money. And if they ever do need money, they have a couple of players who are unpopular with the vocal racist segment of their fanbase that will fetch £30m+.
Ben Davies - Swansea aren't exactly swimming in cash, but Davies is improving and his value is going to go up. They'll hold onto him for another year or two before selling him for crazy money.
Guys we could actually buy
Neil Taylor - If Ben Davies is first choice, why not buy his extremely capable backup? He's not worse than Danny Rose.
Davide Santon - I don't want to hear that Newcastle aren't interested in selling. They're Newcastle. They're always interested in selling.
Bastian Oczipka - Frankfurt's left back, as suggested by Michael Caley, aka MCofA. Playing at a high level, 25, plays for a team that would always consider selling someone at the right price.
Jetro Willems - If we're thinking more of a project than a quick fix. PSV probably won't be willing to sell until the end of the year, though.
Daley Blind - I don't actually think he's good enough to start for a top six Premier League team, but 23-year-old Ajax starters are considered by everyone.
Benjamin Mendy - He's just 19 and Marseille just bought him, so he's probably not going anywhere this window, but he's a big prospect that will be available for a reasonable fee if he's jumped on before he becomes a star.
Alex Telles - Had a brilliant season for Gremio and is going to improve, but it would be tough to get him a work permit at the moment.
Edit: Galatasaray bought Telles for €5m. What an insane steal.
Thoughts? After going through this exercise, the options don't look great. In fact, the best one looks like taking a huge risk on Alex Sandro and hoping it pays off. The second best option looks like Neil Taylor. Ouch.
