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How much are Tottenham’s ‘Magnificent 7' worth now?
by Dan Kilpatrick - April 14,
http://www.thetottenhamway.com
As the season winds down and the summer transfer window approaches, Spurs are preparing to call time on the inglorious careers of the bulk of the ‘Magnificent 7'.
Boosted by the sales of Steven Caulker, Clint Dempsey and, of course, Gareth Bale, Spurs spent over £100m in summer 2013 in a calculated risk designed to propel the club into the upper echelons of English and European football. Guided by new technical director Franco Baldini, Daniel Levy bought his head-coach Andre Villas-Boas seven new players, breaking the club’s transfer record three times in the process.
Although there was no recognised superstar, all came with promising reputations and Levy must have felt confident his significant investment would pay dividends. Fast-forward 18 months and the club are considering selling up to five of the ‘Magnificent 7' this summer, and no-one expects Levy to break even.
Where did it all go wrong and why? And what are the ‘Magnificent 7' worth now?
Christian Eriksen
Eriksen’s arrival from Ajax felt driven by circumstance as much as design after top choice Willian defected to Chelsea at the eleventh hour. The Brazilian’s treachery has proved a blessing in disguise; Eriksen is by far the most impressive of the seven and the only signing to enhance his reputation at Spurs. His performances helped make Tim Sherwood’s reign bearable and Eriksen has further improved his game under Mauricio Pochettino, adding a phenomenal work-rate to his consistent end-product.
The 23-year-old shelved fresh contract talks until the end of the current season and, despite below par displays since mid-February, there remains a chance that his vital contributions this term have attracted the attention of a bigger fish; PSG are the most often mentioned. Master-salesman Daniel Levy would want around triple what he paid for Eriksen, who is now Premier League proven and has the potential to be one the best no.10s in world football, however.
Cost: £11.5m
Current value: Circa £33m
Vlad Chiriches
Few Spurs fans knew anything about the defender when he arrived from Steau Bucharest and, in truth, few know much about him now. Chiriches’ displays have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous – too often the latter – and while he arguably has all the attributes to be a success under Pochettino (pace, control and a desire to push out of defence) his decision-making and unpredictability make him an unsuitable defender for the Premier League.
For now, the 25-year-old is deputy to Kyle Walker at right back but he doesn’t offer genuine competition to the Englishman and few believe he has a future at Spurs beyond this summer. Although his two-seasons at the Lane can be classed as underwhelming, rather than catastrophic, value depends on who’s paying and the only interest in the Romanian has come from the cash-strapped Serie A, so he’s likely to leave for a small loss this summer.
Cost: £8.5m
Current value: c. £7m
Paulinho
We were promised a Frank Lampard; what we got is closer to Frank Skinner. Paulinho arrived fresh from being named the third best player in Brazil’s triumphant Confederations Cup campaign and Luiz Felipe Scolari’s trusted midfielder looked a snip at £16m. Fast-forward 18 months and Paulinho is reportedly mentally scarred by Brazil’s traumatising World Cup exit, is nowhere near Dunga’s new-look national squad and has been reduced to a laughing stock in the Premier League.
After an inconspicuous debut season, Paulinho has been a bit-part player under Pochettino, making just two league starts. He’s generally been awful and his lasting legacy at the Lane threatens to be a “shot” against Burnley, which was so bad even Andros Townsend and Roberto Soldado were caught chuckling. Like Chiriches, the only interest from Paulinho is from leagues short of cash (Brazil and Italy) and Spurs seem destined to make a major loss on him this summer.
Cost: £16m
Current value: c. £7m
Nacer Chadli
Belgian winger Chadli is perhaps the trickiest of the seven players to effectively judge. Chadli showed glimpses of promise last season but was largely sluggish and ineffective, although that’s in part down to Sherwood’s odd decision to use him as a deep-lying central midfielder.
After narrowly surviving the chop in the summer, Chadli quickly established himself as one of Pochettino’s most effective players – initially scoring goals without playing well, before hitting his stride and linking up impressively with Harry Kane – but he has tailed off this year. Again there is a caveat, however. Chadli lost his father in January and has not looked the same player since. On balance, he should be given another chance next season but there remains the possibility Spurs will sell for an offer above £10m.
Cost: £7m
Current value: c. £10m
Etienne Capoue
After a shoddy debut season disrupted by injury, Capoue looked set to play a crucial part in Pochettino’s revolution. The Frenchman started the season as the team’s midfielder anchorman and looked good; maybe there was no need for Morgan Schneiderlin? But home defeats to Liverpool, Newcastle, West Brom and finally Stoke altered Pochettino’s thinking and Capoue paid a heavy price.
After being unceremoniously dropped following the 2-1 defeat to the Potters, he’s barely been seen nor heard from and there’s reason to think his absence is linked to attitude, or perhaps some unpublicised off-field incident, rather than performances. Spurs will undoubtedly try to offload Capoue but Levy will be looking at another loss, albeit a small one.
Cost: £8.5m
Current value: c. £5m
Roberto Soldado
For most Spurs fans there’s a single moment, easily pinpointed, when all hope vanished and goodwill turned to apathy or anger. For me, it was his miss against Fiorentina, that golden two-on-one chance. For others, it might have been the equally-awful miss against Burnley in the FA Cup or even some far-distant point during the previous campaign. Whenever it was, there are very few who still expect the £26m signing from Valencia to come good.
Soldado has been one of the worst signings in Premier League history, a previously lethal finisher who has been reduced to a shambling apology of a player, by two seasons worth of confidence-sapping incompetence. The 29-year-old is certain to leave this summer and only his previous form in Spain will prevent Spurs from making a whopping loss. There’s not a lot of cash in La Liga, so Levy’s best bet might to be include Soldado as a makeweight in another deal.
Cost: £26m
Current value: c. £8m
Erik Lamela
Erik Lamela sitting
The most expensive of the ‘Magnificent 7' is also the most frustrating. Lamela may not be a £30m player but he’s clearly talented, as a number of glimpses in a Spurs shirt – notably the rabona – suggest. After an horrendous debut season in England, largely spent on the sidelines through injury, Lamela was apparently a big factor in the appointment of his compatriot Pochettino. It hasn’t worked…yet. The winger was initially a regular under Pochettino but too many average performances, littered with defensive errors, have seen him lose his place to Townsend since the turn of the year. His age and potential mean Spurs may hold onto him for another year but if Pochettino decides to sell, it’ll likely be for a substantial loss.
Cost: £30m
Current value: c. £15m
Agreed ?
by Dan Kilpatrick - April 14,
http://www.thetottenhamway.com
As the season winds down and the summer transfer window approaches, Spurs are preparing to call time on the inglorious careers of the bulk of the ‘Magnificent 7'.
Boosted by the sales of Steven Caulker, Clint Dempsey and, of course, Gareth Bale, Spurs spent over £100m in summer 2013 in a calculated risk designed to propel the club into the upper echelons of English and European football. Guided by new technical director Franco Baldini, Daniel Levy bought his head-coach Andre Villas-Boas seven new players, breaking the club’s transfer record three times in the process.
Although there was no recognised superstar, all came with promising reputations and Levy must have felt confident his significant investment would pay dividends. Fast-forward 18 months and the club are considering selling up to five of the ‘Magnificent 7' this summer, and no-one expects Levy to break even.
Where did it all go wrong and why? And what are the ‘Magnificent 7' worth now?
Christian Eriksen
Eriksen’s arrival from Ajax felt driven by circumstance as much as design after top choice Willian defected to Chelsea at the eleventh hour. The Brazilian’s treachery has proved a blessing in disguise; Eriksen is by far the most impressive of the seven and the only signing to enhance his reputation at Spurs. His performances helped make Tim Sherwood’s reign bearable and Eriksen has further improved his game under Mauricio Pochettino, adding a phenomenal work-rate to his consistent end-product.
The 23-year-old shelved fresh contract talks until the end of the current season and, despite below par displays since mid-February, there remains a chance that his vital contributions this term have attracted the attention of a bigger fish; PSG are the most often mentioned. Master-salesman Daniel Levy would want around triple what he paid for Eriksen, who is now Premier League proven and has the potential to be one the best no.10s in world football, however.
Cost: £11.5m
Current value: Circa £33m
Vlad Chiriches
Few Spurs fans knew anything about the defender when he arrived from Steau Bucharest and, in truth, few know much about him now. Chiriches’ displays have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous – too often the latter – and while he arguably has all the attributes to be a success under Pochettino (pace, control and a desire to push out of defence) his decision-making and unpredictability make him an unsuitable defender for the Premier League.
For now, the 25-year-old is deputy to Kyle Walker at right back but he doesn’t offer genuine competition to the Englishman and few believe he has a future at Spurs beyond this summer. Although his two-seasons at the Lane can be classed as underwhelming, rather than catastrophic, value depends on who’s paying and the only interest in the Romanian has come from the cash-strapped Serie A, so he’s likely to leave for a small loss this summer.
Cost: £8.5m
Current value: c. £7m
Paulinho
We were promised a Frank Lampard; what we got is closer to Frank Skinner. Paulinho arrived fresh from being named the third best player in Brazil’s triumphant Confederations Cup campaign and Luiz Felipe Scolari’s trusted midfielder looked a snip at £16m. Fast-forward 18 months and Paulinho is reportedly mentally scarred by Brazil’s traumatising World Cup exit, is nowhere near Dunga’s new-look national squad and has been reduced to a laughing stock in the Premier League.
After an inconspicuous debut season, Paulinho has been a bit-part player under Pochettino, making just two league starts. He’s generally been awful and his lasting legacy at the Lane threatens to be a “shot” against Burnley, which was so bad even Andros Townsend and Roberto Soldado were caught chuckling. Like Chiriches, the only interest from Paulinho is from leagues short of cash (Brazil and Italy) and Spurs seem destined to make a major loss on him this summer.
Cost: £16m
Current value: c. £7m
Nacer Chadli
Belgian winger Chadli is perhaps the trickiest of the seven players to effectively judge. Chadli showed glimpses of promise last season but was largely sluggish and ineffective, although that’s in part down to Sherwood’s odd decision to use him as a deep-lying central midfielder.
After narrowly surviving the chop in the summer, Chadli quickly established himself as one of Pochettino’s most effective players – initially scoring goals without playing well, before hitting his stride and linking up impressively with Harry Kane – but he has tailed off this year. Again there is a caveat, however. Chadli lost his father in January and has not looked the same player since. On balance, he should be given another chance next season but there remains the possibility Spurs will sell for an offer above £10m.
Cost: £7m
Current value: c. £10m
Etienne Capoue
After a shoddy debut season disrupted by injury, Capoue looked set to play a crucial part in Pochettino’s revolution. The Frenchman started the season as the team’s midfielder anchorman and looked good; maybe there was no need for Morgan Schneiderlin? But home defeats to Liverpool, Newcastle, West Brom and finally Stoke altered Pochettino’s thinking and Capoue paid a heavy price.
After being unceremoniously dropped following the 2-1 defeat to the Potters, he’s barely been seen nor heard from and there’s reason to think his absence is linked to attitude, or perhaps some unpublicised off-field incident, rather than performances. Spurs will undoubtedly try to offload Capoue but Levy will be looking at another loss, albeit a small one.
Cost: £8.5m
Current value: c. £5m
Roberto Soldado
For most Spurs fans there’s a single moment, easily pinpointed, when all hope vanished and goodwill turned to apathy or anger. For me, it was his miss against Fiorentina, that golden two-on-one chance. For others, it might have been the equally-awful miss against Burnley in the FA Cup or even some far-distant point during the previous campaign. Whenever it was, there are very few who still expect the £26m signing from Valencia to come good.
Soldado has been one of the worst signings in Premier League history, a previously lethal finisher who has been reduced to a shambling apology of a player, by two seasons worth of confidence-sapping incompetence. The 29-year-old is certain to leave this summer and only his previous form in Spain will prevent Spurs from making a whopping loss. There’s not a lot of cash in La Liga, so Levy’s best bet might to be include Soldado as a makeweight in another deal.
Cost: £26m
Current value: c. £8m
Erik Lamela
Erik Lamela sitting
The most expensive of the ‘Magnificent 7' is also the most frustrating. Lamela may not be a £30m player but he’s clearly talented, as a number of glimpses in a Spurs shirt – notably the rabona – suggest. After an horrendous debut season in England, largely spent on the sidelines through injury, Lamela was apparently a big factor in the appointment of his compatriot Pochettino. It hasn’t worked…yet. The winger was initially a regular under Pochettino but too many average performances, littered with defensive errors, have seen him lose his place to Townsend since the turn of the year. His age and potential mean Spurs may hold onto him for another year but if Pochettino decides to sell, it’ll likely be for a substantial loss.
Cost: £30m
Current value: c. £15m
Agreed ?
