3 Premier League teams who have not signed a single player this summer
Premier League clubs are in a race against time to complete their summer transfer business before the window slams shut on August 9th. A combination of the World Cup, preseason tour commitments, and an early deadline day has left precious little time for managers to secure new players for the season ahead.
The extraordinary circumstances of this year's summer transfer window have created a situation where English clubs are once again the victims of massively inflated prices for their targets. European clubs are happily using the wealth of the Premier League to extract the highest value for their players.
This premium on players leaves managers around England with a tough decision to make - pay over the odds for their targets or delay any moves into the transfer market. However, with just over two weeks left before deadline day, delaying any moves in the market could result in missing out on targets altogether.
While most Premier League clubs have conducted some form of incoming transfer business throughout the summer, there are still three teams who are yet to make any signings whatsoever. In such a competitive league where the stakes are extremely high, entering the season with a stale squad could be a disaster.
Will any of these teams complete a summer signing before the August 9th deadline day?
#3 Tottenham Hotspur
It has been an extremely quiet transfer window so far for Spurs. The North London club's only activity in the window thus far has been the sale of teenager Keanan Bennetts to Borussia Monchengladbach for €2.24 million way back in May.
Tottenham's chairman, Daniel Levy, is a notoriously tough negotiator, extracting the highest possible value when selling players and penny-pinching to the extreme when bringing new faces into the club. He was widely praised for pulling off a coup when signing Lucas Moura for just under €13 million back in January.
However, the businessman's strict policy on transfers could potentially damage Tottenham's excellent progress under Mauricio Pochettino. Having finished third in the Premier League last season, the Argentine manager should feel that a title challenge is a real possibility for Spurs this year if he can make improvements to the squad.
With a new stadium, expectations are bound to be high among the Spurs fans also. However, a foray into the transfer market is a must if the Lilywhites are to remain competitive for the coming season. Levy's tactic of stalling in the transfer market may backfire and increase the premium on transfer targets, leaving Spurs struggling to find new players.
Potential Signings
The club has been heavily linked with a move for Aston Villa attacking midfielder, Jack Grealish. A longtime target for Spurs, the 22-year-old could potentially be free to move after Villa was taken over by a billionaire consortium. However, the Midlands club would still demand somewhere in the region of €33.5 million for their star player.
With Grealish their main priority, Tottenham may swoop for another creative player in the shape of Wilfred Zaha. The former Manchester United player impressed greatly for Crystal Palace last season and recently rejected a contract extension at Crystal Palace. However, the ludicrous price tag of €79 million slapped on Zaha is a very large stumbling block.
With other links to players proving tedious at best, Tottenham fans are rightly growing concerned about how their team will lineup in less than three weeks for the season opener against Newcastle.