Tottenham Hotspur 2021 Summer Departures

Joe Hart-

Juan Foyth-

The Argentine international never had a fair crack of the whip in North London as when Mauricio Pochettino was at Spurs, he had a prime Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen starting together in defence with a young Davinson Sanchez being the backup, so appearances were tough to come by for the young Juan Foyth. Pochettino departed, Mourinho arrived and the Belgian duo began to age so there could finally be a chance for the 21 year old (at the time). Foyth got his first premier league start under Mourinho in December 2019 away against Norwich City. Foyth made a mistake getting dispossessed which lead to a Mario Vrančič goal and the game ended 2-2. That was the last time Foyth started a competitive game for Spurs. In the summer of 2020, the defender joined Spanish side Villareal on a season long loan with an option to make the move a permanent. Foyth was impressive for the Yellow Submarine, occasionally filling in at centre back and defensive midfield, but mainly at right back. Villareal won the UEFA Europa League that season with Foyth playing a key part, especially in the Semi Final and Final against former North London rivals Arsenal and Manchester United. In the Summer of 2021 Villareal exercised the loan to buy option for £13.5m and the Argentine is now a Villareal player on a permanent basis.

Cameron Carter-Vickers-

Carter-Vickers is a 23 year old centre back who has been a senior member of the Tottenham squad for 5 years now, although barring a few cup games here and there and the annual pre season, never has had a run of games at Tottenham. Instead he gets loaned out every season. Celtic (the club he’s gone on loan to now) is his 7th loan in 5 years. The deal is a 1 year loan with a £2m option to buy. Decent business for Tottenham considering he has never played a premier league game.

Toby Alderweireld-

In 2015 Tottenham signed Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid for £14.4m which in hindsight is an absolute bargain. The Belgium international formed a solid defensive partnership with fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen from 2015 until 2020 when Vertonghen left as a free agent to join SL Benfica. The 2020/21 season was a weird season for Alderweireld because not only had he lost his compatriot, but he experienced a solid start to the season which saw Tottenham on top of the table in December 2020 where his defensive partnership was Eric Dier and the duo were impressive. From January onwards (in typical Tottenham fashion), Spurs fell apart. Mourinho chopped and changed the defence many times where Alderweireld has seen Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and new boy Joe Rodon all be next to him in defence. Even the Belgian himself was taken in and out of the side by Mourinho. In April, Mourinho got sacked and Ryan Mason (who was once teammates with Alderweireld) came in to manage Tottenham for the remainder of the season. Mason’s favourite defensive duo was Alderweireld and Dier. Alderweireld himself has made it well known for a while he would like to leave Tottenham so he could see his wife and kids more often. In July 2021, the 32-year-old got his move. He joined Qatari side Al-Duhail. Spurs ended up receiving £4.8m which is a fairly underwhelming price as he is still valued at £9m by Transfermarkt.

Moussa Sissoko-

Moussa Sissoko was a deadline day panic buy on August 31 2016 from Newcastle United who cost Tottenham £31.5m. Because of his massive price tag, all attention was suddenly on the Frenchman. After a lacklustre debut season, Spurs fans were left unimpressed with Sissoko. In his second season (2017/18), Sissoko was showing signs of improvement but still wasn’t fulfilling expectations and his price tag. However, the 2018/19 season was when the French international hit form. He looked like a different player. Powerful, physical and a workhorse. Sissoko won 2 individual awards that season, Tottenham Hotspur Legends’ player of the season 2018/19 and he made the UEFA Champions League squad of the season 2018/19. Unfortunately for the 32 year old, that’s where his good form for Spurs ended having lost his place in the starting 11 towards his last 2 seasons at the club. There is no doubt Sissoko is a fan favourite over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. His time at Tottenham came to an end in August 2021, joining newly promoted Watford for £3m. It was originally reported Spurs would recieve £9m, then £7m, then £5m and it came out that it was even less. Considering Sissoko was part of the France team for Euro 2020, you’d expect Spurs would get more than £3m. 

Erik Lamela-

Just like Moussa Sissoko, Erik Lamela joined Tottenham for a hefty fee (£27m), so expectation was high for the Argentine. However it wasn’t the easiest of starts to life in North London for the winger, he had an injury riddled first season and also couldn’t speak English. However in the summer of 2014, Spurs appointed fellow Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, who was perfect for Lamela. Pochettino started Lamela for 2 seasons in a row and he quick became a fan favourite with the skills Lamela was capable of, and the fans loved the dirty side of Lamela who would wind up opponents endlessly. On October 25 2016, Spurs played Liverpool away in the league cup and Lamela came off the bench and injured his hip. To his horror, the Argentine was out of action for 388 days (57 games). Lamela himself said it was the worst time of his life. In November 2017, Lamela finally came back to the pitch featuring in a 2-1 defeat against Leicester. Since then, Lamela has always just been a squad player who was a very useful option off the bench. Summer 2021 was when the former Argentine international left Spurs, after 8 whole years. It was very emotional for everyone, but it was probably the best move too. Lamela left Spurs in a swap for Sevilla where Tottenham paid £21m for Bryan Gil, who is an exceptional talent. Lamela went the other way to Sevilla and he has had a brilliant start for the La Liga outfit, scoring 3 goals in 2 games. It was a great deal and Lamela’s time at Spurs was definitely appreciated.

Serge Aurier-

Serge Aurier and Spurs agreed to terminate his contract, there was no hard feelings at all though. Tottenham wanted to sell Aurier and the Ivorian wanted to leave Spurs but there was no clubs interested. The Ivory Coast captain had a very unique time in North London, loved by some fans, hated by others. He signed for £22.5m from PSG in 2017 to replace Kyle Walker, but it didn’t happen like that. The sudden rise of Kieran Trippier made gametime very limited for Aurier. When Trippier eventually left Spurs for Atletico Madrid in 2019, it was finally Aurier’s opportunity to be the number one right back. Inconsistency, clumsiness and a lack of discipline was the flaws Aurier had. There was times the right back would get silly red cards or give away stupid penalties which could be easily prevented. Things like that really got on the fans nerves. However going forward, the former PSG man was actually very useful. Aurier was not shy of scoring goals and grabbing assists. In 110 appearances, he scored 8 goals and grabbed 17 assists which is very impressive for a fullback. It’s a shame the 28 year old left for nothing because Spurs could’ve got about £15m-£20m for his services. It’s no fault of their own though, as Tottenham were open to sell but no one wanted him.

Summary

Overall, Tottenham have let go of 7 players this summer and new Director of Football Fabio Paratici has definitely made an impact in North London. Shifting deadwood and bringing in good young players. Tottenham have received about £23m for their player departures and including Gareth Bale, Carlos Vinicuis, Paulo Gazzaniga and Danny Rose, Spurs have managed to let go of £822,500 worth of weekly wages, which is £39,480,000 a year. So ultimately, Tottenham have gathered a combined £62m worth of sales and names taken off the wage bill. Tottenham deserve a solid 7.5/10 for their outgoings this summer.

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