Tottenham open to offers for 12 players this summer

The stadium is open, the first match is in the bag. Tottenham Hotspur have returned home. So, with nothing else to talk about, we Spurs fans should consider this the official opening of transfer rumor season! Welcome, #batcountry! I’ve missed you!

And boy, are we starting out the transfer rumor season with a doozy! Multiple outlets, including the Evening Standard’s James Olley, are reporting that Spurs are planning a massive summer overhaul when the window opens in July, and are open to offers to offload 12 different players.

Those players, in no particular order, are:

• Toby Alderweireld
• Christian Eriksen
• Serge Aurier
• Kieran Trippier
• Vincent Janssen
• Georges-Kevin N’Koudou
• Fernando Llorente
• Michel Vorm
• Moussa Sissoko
• Erik Lamela
• Cameron Carter-Vickers
• Josh Onomah

Some of these names are obvious, others less so. Two — Vorm and Llorente — are likely to leave on a Bosman for free this summer as their contracts expire. One — Toby Alderweireld — is almost certainly leaving Spurs to go somewhere for his purchase clause of £26m. Christian Eriksen we already know about and there’s no point in rehashing that particular rumor here. Serge Aurier has already been linked away from the club.

The obvious ones are perpetual dog-house dwellers Vincent Janssen and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, both of whom Spurs have unsuccessfully attempted to dump for a couple of years now. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Josh Onomah are both out on loan and apparently doing pretty well, but it’s unclear whether either have a future at Spurs.

That leaves a couple of intriguing and tantalizing rumors. Kieran Trippier came out of the World Cup last summer on a high, but has faded dramatically this year, and even he admitted he “could’ve done a lot better.” He also turns 29 next fall and Spurs could be looking for another, younger upgrade. Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela are both, according to the Standard, players that the club might consider letting go, but only “if substantial bids are made.”

We should be clear of a couple of things here. First, it’s still pretty ludicrously early to take a whole lot of credibility in a transfer rumor that is this vague. It’s pretty clear from his comments earlier that Mauricio Pochettino wants to think big and be bold, but this in no way means that we will see 12 players depart the club. Practically speaking, while it looks as though there will be an attempt to offload the perennial deadwood and cash in on a couple of first team stars such as Alderweireld and Eriksen, I would not expect a huge amount of actual turnover when all is said and done.

Instead, if these rumors are accurate, it reflects a Tottenham side that is ready to be flexible with their transfer policy and to stay open to various possibilities in what is likely to be a chaotic transfer market this summer. It also implies that the club DOES intend to bring in players this summer. There’s lots of gallows humor both here and elsewhere among Spurs fans about the past year of transfer austerity, but I don’t think there’s any chance that Spurs stand pat again. With the stadium open and Poch ready for a new project, there’s too much at stake.

No matter what, brace yourself for what’s going to be a pretty fantastic summer, if you like Tottenham transfer rumors. If this is any indication, there could be some fireworks.