Tottenham Hotspur have signed some great players over the past 10 years, but for every great player, there is another who went on to be a Spurs flop.
Here we take a look at Tottenham’s top five worst signings since 2015:
5. Davinson Sanchez – Ajax to Tottenham (£42m)
Some might see this one as a hot take, but Sanchez never looked like the level of player Tottenham should have been starting. He received much praise in his first season, but the hype seemed to be excessive, for no reason other than the fact that he was a young defender.
Over the years, things got worse for the centre-half, as his performances worsened. Sanchez later admitted he struggled to cope with the criticism he faced at Tottenham, which included being booed off the pitch in one game.
The 29-year-old became Tottenham’s club record signing, but was sold for £12.8m. Does he, therefore, deserve to be on this list? We think so.
4. Radu Dragusin – Genoa to Spurs (£21.5m)
There was excitement around Hotspur Way when Tottenham beat Bayern Munich to the signing of Dragusin. However, the 23-year-old’s displays have been pretty shocking since he arrived. He made his full debut in a 3-0 defeat to Fulham and that scoreline alone is a decent summary of how life in North London has been for him.
One particular low point occurred last season when Ryan Gravenberch said Liverpool targeted Dragusin during a 6-3 win over Spurs in the Premier League. This was despite the fact that Dragusin’s centre-back partner was Archie Gray, who was an 18-year-old midfielder playing out of position.
Dragusin has struggled on the ball, often giving away possession in dangerous positions and his defending has not been great either. Ange Postecoglou’s style of play certainly did not help the Romanian, but he certainly has not lived up to the hype sounded by his outspoken agent.
3. Bryan Gil – Sevilla to Tottenham (£21.6m plus Erik Lamela)
What a shocking piece of business this was! Spurs parted ways with Lamela along with more than £20m, for a player who was not even as good as the Argentine winger.
Gil has failed to score in 24 Premier League appearances for Tottenham and he has been loaned back to La Liga three times.
He has never looked much of an attacking threat and he lacks the physicality required to make it in England. Spurs really need to get him sold this summer.
2. Vincent Janssen – AZ Alkmaar to Spurs (£17m)
Janssen was signed by Tottenham after a season where he scored 27 goals in the Eredivisie. He certainly did not reach those heights in the Premier League.
He scores when he wants is the song Spurs supporters comedically sang about the Dutchman, who only managed six goals in 42 appearances, before leaving for a £6m fee.
Identifying good strikers was clearly an issue for the Tottenham scouts, as Roberto Soldado had been sold only one year before Janssen joined. It is difficult to pick which of the two was worse during their spells at the club.
1. Tanguy Ndombele – Lyon to Tottenham (£63m)
Imagine being so lazy that Jose Mourinho breaks lockdown rules during a global pandemic to take you on a run. This was one of the bizarre stories of Ndombele’s time at Spurs.
He is probably the most frustrating Tottenham player of all time, because he was clearly a skilful and talented player. However, Ndombele had a bad attitude and put in as little effort as possible. It is crazy to think he caused Tottenham to once again break their club record transfer fee.
The midfielder was described as being like a better version of Mousa Dembele when he joined Spurs, possessing his abilities while offering more in attack. Some opinions age like fine wine, but this one aged like a pint of milk.
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