Thursday Hoddle of Coffee: Deadline Day Recap, September 1, 2016

That was one of the crazier deadline days I remember us having, probably the craziest since the two deadline days under AVB. AVB’s first deadline day saw us fail to sign Joao Moutinho and then panic sign Clint Dempsey. The second included the failed signing of Willian as well as the additions of Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, and... Vlad Chiriches (LOL).

Before we get to the obvious topic, let’s talk about the other moves Spurs made this window. There’s a ton to like: The additions of Vincent Janssen and Victor Wanyama are absolutely fantastic moves for us. Georges-Kevin N’Koudou has potential and Pau Lopez gives us options for the future as we consider whether Michel Vorm is good enough as a backup and what we might do if Hugo Lloris leaves in the next year or two.

The outgoings are also great. Getting £10m+ for Ryan Mason and Nacer Chadli is excellent business. The Pritchard and Yedlin deals are also good, as is the Bentaleb loan. There is a lot to like from this window.

That said, this window is obviously going to be remembered for (and judged by) the Sissoko signing. I’ve got a lot more to say on that in a separate post, but let’s just recognize a few basic facts about the signing:

• £30m in 2016 is not the same as £30m in 2011 or even 2014.
• We didn’t know how the Wanyama-Dier or Winks-Dier partnership would work over the summer, so you can argue that it made sense to wait until late August to make a move. There is no sense spending the funds if Wanyama-Dier is good enough to get by.
• On his good days, Moussa Sissoko is worth £30m.
• The first four words in the point above are the key.

Overall those four points tell you what my general take on the deal is, which is that signing Sissoko for that fee can be justified (in the current economy, anyway) but so can laughing at Newcastle and walking away from the deal. At this point it’s a deeply ambiguous signing and we should avoid the inevitable pull to overreact in one way or the other.

What do you all think of it?