Tottenham have exploded out of the traps, starting the new Premier League season with a couple of eye-popping victories which augur well for the rest of the campaign, but are they about to be unhinged by a lack of activity in the transfer market?
After winning the Europa League final in Bilbao in May they have changed managers from Ange Postecoglou to Thomas Frank and bossed Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup final for 80 minutes until late substitutions led to a collapse which saw them lose on penalties.
They then lifted spirits by beating Burnley 3-0 in north London before extending their hex over Manchester City with a 2-0 triumph at the Etihad Stadium.
That has built an impressive head of steam which can gain even further momentum going into the international break with a home victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.
But, and it is an absolutely massive but, Tottenham are short of quality in their ranks and if they are to be competitive in the Champions League and the two domestic cup competitions as well as the league they need an injection of talent over the remaining days of this summer’s transfer window.
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Heung-min Son’s departure to Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC and long-term injuries to playmakers Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have left huge holes in their attack but attempts to sign marquee replacements have been woefully inadequate.
Tottenham failed to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest before dithering in their bid to lure Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, leaving the door open for Arsenal to complete the deal hours after learning Kai Havertz faces a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
Proposed raids for Manchester City winger Savinho, West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta and Como playmaker Nico Paz all look doomed to fail and while they could turn to Leicester midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, a reported splash to sign Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers looks extremely difficult with the Midlands club having just a few days to bring in an adequate replacement.
It leaves Tottenham open to panic buys which do not really add the required experience and talent necessary to fight on four fronts, although buying Harvey Elliott from Liverpool, a long-shot at 14/1 with bet365, could be a decent fallback option while the potential capture of Monaco prospect Maghnes Akliouche would be decent.
Tottenham v Bournemouth odds
Spurs are 8/11 with Ladbrokes and Coral to pluck full points away from the Cherries, with in-form Richarlison 9/2 to open the scoring and 6/4 with Unibet and BetMGM to get on the scoreboard, and they are 13/8 with Sky Bet to qualify for next season’s Champions League by finishing in the top five.
But their chances of breaking into the top four at 3/1 with Ladbrokes, Coral and BetVictor appear bleak if the lack of transfer decisiveness continues just weeks after chairman Daniel Levy said the club want to win both the Champions League and Premier League in the near future.
Conference League odds: Palace can progress
Crystal Palace can book their place in the Conference League draw by winning their second leg at Fredrikstad on Thursday evening.
The Eagles take a 1-0 lead to Denmark and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who landed our bet to score first and at any time at Selhurst Park, is 3/1 with William Hill to break the deadlock again and 21/20 with bet365 to find the net.
US Open tennis odds
Amanda Anisimova is 5/6 with bet365, Betfred and BetVictor to make women’s singles progress at the US Open by beating Maya Joint in straight sets, while 2018 and 2020 champion Naomi Osaka is 11/10 with bet365 and Betway to defeat America’s world No.45 Hailey Baptiste by the same margin.
Iga Swiatek, the 2022 queen of Queen’s, can follow her 6-1, 6-2 over Emiliana Arango by beating Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens by more than 7.5 games at 4/5 with William Hill, bet365 and Betfred.
