Between them, Premier League clubs have splashed out just shy of £800m on new players this summer, but not one penny has been spent by Tottenham Hotspur who are the only side yet to make an addition to their squad.
The main transfer business involving Spurs has seen Kyle Walker leave for title rivals Manchester City in a £50m deal while unwanted squad players Federico Fazio, Nabil Bentaleb and Clinton N’Jie have also been moved on.
Some Spurs supporters are starting to get a little restless at the lack of signings but according to reports, Everton’s attacking midfielder Ross Barkley could be the club’s first acquisition of the summer.
Everton are believed to have lowered their £50m valuation of the 23-year-old England international which could accelerate Spurs’ move for him. Barkley has only one year remaining on his deal at Goodison Park and Everton would rather sell him now.
Barkley has been highly-rated ever since bursting onto the scene during the 2013-14 Premier League season but he has been accused of inconsistency over the past few years and has failed to make any real impact with the England national team.
Mauricio Pochettino, though, is known to be a big admirer of Barkley’s talents and the Argentine could be the perfect manager to help the Liverpudlian realise his potential. Here are three reasons why.
Pochettino’s track record for developing English talent
Throughout his time in English football with Southampton and Spurs, Pochettino has been lauded for maximising the potential of English players at his disposal ranging from young unproven talents such as Harry Kane to experienced professionals like Rickie Lambert.
In England’s strongest starting XI, no fewer than six have played under Pochettino; Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane at Spurs and Adam Lallana at Southampton. Of those players, all but Walker earned their international debuts while being coached by Pochettino.
Barkley, of course, has been around the England set-up for some time, however, he has never been able to carve out a regular place in the side, failing to play a single minute at Euro 2016 and even losing his place during Gareth Southgate’s spell in charge.
Talent isn’t the issue. On his day, Barkley is one of the most exciting English players in the Premier League and the closest thing to a young Wayne Rooney, but consistency, application and focus have so far held him back.
Working for a manager who not only demands complete dedication from his players but also who enhances them technically and tactically, is exactly what Barkley needs to progress from a good player to an excellent one.
Man management
Virtually every Spurs player to speak out about Pochettino during Spurs’ rise over the past couple of years has praised him for helping to create a positive ‘family’ atmosphere around the club.
Pochettino carries the air of a proud father with his players, taking every opportunity to praise them publicly for good performances and backing them on the occasions when they rarely overstep the mark.
A few days after Dele Alli had come in for stinging criticism after being sent off for a dreadful tackle against Gent in the Europa League, Pochettino said: “With Dele, I gave him more love than normal (after Thursday) I will support him always. Always we will protect him.”
Not many managers would have been so lenient, particularly as Spurs were eliminated from the competition after Alli’s sending off, but Pochettino managed the situation perfectly, recognising Alli as one of his best players who needed support.
In contrast, Ronald Koeman criticised Ross Barkley frequently during the 2016-17 season, chastising him for not being tactically intelligent enough and challenging him to improve despite his good performances.
Barkley seems like the kind of character that requires an arm around the shoulder to play well and Pochettino, while tough and ruthless when he wants to be, would be the perfect manager to extract his talent through shrewd man management skills.
Tactically: He could turn him into Mousa Dembele 2.0
A few years on from Barkley’s breakthrough 2013-14 season and still there are question marks over what his best role is; is he more effective as an attacking no.10 or slightly deeper in central midfield?
Neither Roberto Martinez nor Ronald Koeman were able to find a position for Barkley in which he consistently excelled beyond a few games at a time, but Pochettino has been a master of interpreting how best to utilise his players.
Given how strong Spurs’ starting XI is, it is difficult to work out exactly where Barkley would fit in if he joined but perhaps Pochettino has plans to move him into a similar role to that currently occupied by Mousa Dembele.
Due to ongoing foot problems, Dembele only completed the full 90 minutes in just eight of his 30 Premier League appearances last season and now 30, Spurs would be wise to start looking for a long-term replacement for the Belgian.
While not as silky on the ball as Dembele (who completed 84% of his take ons last season) Barkley is also an excellent ball-carrier (66% take on success) and is comfortable when in possession.
Undoubtedly, Barkley needs to become more tactically disciplined and positionally aware to become a success in the role, but Pochettino was able to get Dembele playing consistently there after a difficult first season.
Add in a gruelling training regime that would make Barkley physically stronger and fitter and he could just turn into the player that Spurs will need post-Dembele
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