Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
Both still 24 years old. Plenty of reasons to think that we can "upgrade" by them just getting better at Spurs. Looking to urgently upgrade on two players who were important first team players when we got 3rd last season seems like a great way to fail imo. Looking for that special upgrade purchase repeatedly proves expensive with a rather low hit rate.
We miss Lamela quite a lot for me. Particularly as we're lacking creativity in central/deep midfield and Lamela is one who actually tries to up our passing tempo rather than slow it down. Also key to our pressing in a lot of games and his intensity has been missed in a lot of games.
Son and Alli score more goals, but they play a rather different role in our team.
Just because we finished 3rd doesn't mean we should necessarily not look to upgrade in certain positions and just stick with the same 11 players who played the majority of the games. Do you not think the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, United and Emirates Marketing Project struggling contributed to our 3rd place finish? I look at our team and I don't see a lot of issues at the back or in defensive midfield. Obviously Janssen has struggled but his signing shows we at least tried to address the issue of relying on Kane. The main area I believe needs to be strengthened is the attacking trio behind Kane.
Eriksen and Lamela are both in their 4th season at Spurs. Lamela for me still doesn't produce enough in terms of end product, I'm talking goals most importantly. His decision making whilst improved still leaves a lot to be desired. Everyone keeps mentioning his pressing which is arugably his biggest asset, we can't keep him in the side for that reason alone.
When it comes to Eriksen, I'm a big fan but there's just something missing that is stopping him from reaching that level of Ozil, Coutinho or even Payet for example. Can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but something is missing and I don't think it's a lack of talent.
All of the midfielders need to chip in with goals. I realise you are a very patient man and are happy to give players many years before they produce at a high enough level, but how long do you give them?