‘Thrilled they got rid’: Tottenham slammed for letting player leave amid Chelsea transfer plea
Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have returned to Europe after 12 months outside of the elite.
The London duo had new managers in the dugout last summer – Ange Postecoglou and Mauricio Pochettino.
Tottenham pipped their rivals to fifth spot, and as a result, they secured Europa League football, but Chelsea were then demoted to the Europa Conference League after Manchester United’s FA Cup final win.
Pochettino then left Chelsea to the annoyance of fans, with the powers that be still spending a lot of money, but on young players.
That doesn’t seem to be stopping with Enzo Maresca now in the dugout, even though they have been told to sign ‘proven’ players.
Tottenham have that at their club, but in pre-season so far, it’s the young guns who are shining and making headlines.
Lucas Bergvall is being lauded for his pre-season performances, with his emergence, alongside Archie Gray, playing a part in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leaving.
The Denmark international was the senior man in the middle of the park and was deemed one of the leaders without the armband.
But Hojbjerg’s game time was already limited and Spurs allowed him to move to Marseille.
Now, Tottenham have been slammed for letting experience leave, with presenter Danny Kelly letting rip.
The Spurs fan stated that his own supporters were ‘absolutely thrilled’ that Hojbjerg left because he wasn’t Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles or Gareth Bale, as he told talkSPORT (28/07/24 at 6:40 am).
Kelly stated that the likes of Chelsea and Spurs need that proven quality in the Premier League given the difficult nature of the league.
Tottenham slammed for letting Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leave
“Watch the ins and outs at Chelsea currently,” said Kelly. “With the current thing is you are turning over these players over like buying and selling hamburgers.
“That’s fine, until you have got somebody who is proven in the Premier League. I think that is a huge thing.
“I give you an example of the club I support. Spurs fans on social media are absolutely thrilled that they have got rid of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg because he isn’t Glenn Hoddle or Ossie Ardiles. Or he isn’t Gareth Bale. Hojbjerg is a proven Premier League player. He has his limitations. Get in proven Premier League players. If you have them, hang onto them, because it’s an incredibly difficult league to succeed.”
Tottenham and Chelsea next season
Fans of these clubs want their team to make a return to the Champions League and there will be pressure to do so ahead of the new campaign.
A lot will depend on what happens in the transfer market, with the summer window to slam shut on August 30.
Spurs and Chelsea supporters are waiting for that marquee player to enter their building, with Marcus Rashford backed to join Tottenham.
You feel there is more pressure and tension at Stamford Bridge, with Postecoglou proving you can remove the dark clouds because he has done so during the last 12 months.
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Although Tottenham Hotspur have started the summer well on the pitch, there’s still considerable work to do for Johan Lange and his team.
Spurs have made real progress with clearing out players on the periphery of Ange Postecoglou’s squad this summer, and for that they deserve credit.
Archie Gray is the only other newcomer who shows up right away, which is a little disappointing given that Lucas Bergvall was already part of a previously agreed-upon contract.
Although Gray is a great addition and a true coup, Tottenham has a great chance to demonstrate their ambition this summer.
Postecoglou will not settle for incremental improvements that land the team back in the top four; instead, he wants to fight for trophy right away.
Having said that, a lot of Tottenham supporters think that adding a forward this summer—someone who can provide goals and star quality—will be crucial.
Additionally, it is said that Postecoglou would want to add a versatile wide-forward—someone who can play centrally—to his squad, even though Harry Kane has not been adequately replaced.
Tottenham now leading race to sign Juventus winger Federico Chiesa
That being said, Juventus winger Federico Chiesa definitely fits that bill, a player who has often shown his quality whilst playing for Italy.
That’s according to Tutto Juve who are following the situation closely, claiming that Tottenham are ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool.
The report states that Juve are hoping for something akin to an auction for Chiesa, who is available for €30m (£25m).
Perhaps some Tottenham supporters would still prefer to add a traditional centre-forward, someone like Ivan Toney, but it’s hard to argue against Chiesa’s quality individually.
Ronaldo once punched wall because of Chiesa at Juventus
Among the high-profile moments of Chiesa’s career thus far, one incident with Cristiano Ronaldo still sticks out to this day.
Back in 2021, despite Juventus beating Genoa 3-1 – one of those goals being scored by Dejan Kulusevski, Ronaldo was furious after the game that he didn’t score.
Chiesa reportedly could have squared the ball to Ronaldo at one point for an easy goal but the Italian decided not to.
After the game, Ronaldo threw his shirt away and punched a wall in the Juventus dressing room.
It seems unlikely that Tottenham would have such spiky characters in their squad should Chiesa join.
But regardless, the ‘electric‘ Italian has probably developed his game a lot since that moment.
