Tottenham have been surprisingly quiet in the January transfer window, with no real substance in any rumblings of new players heading towards White Hart Lane.
It may well be that the north London side actually see players leave the club rather than new faces arrive this week.
Tim Sherwood has admitted that he would be open to allowing a number of fringe players to leave the club – namely Lewis Holtby and Etienne Capoue.
The Germany international signed for Spurs from Schalke last January, and has been in and out of the team since.
Holtby competes for a place with Christian Eriksen, and with the Dane excelling Sherwood has admitted that the German could well leave in coming days.
“I like Lewis, he is a good lad and one of the best trainers we’ve got,” Sherwood said.
“But having played the game myself I understand all players want to play. And if they are not getting a lot of opportunities, sometimes you have to be fair to the players.”
Both former club Schalke and Borussia Dortmund have been accredited with an interest in the talented playmaker, but no firm offers have been confirmed as yet.
Capoue started well at Tottenham after a summer move from Toulouse, but picked up a nasty ankle injury in the north London derby against Arsenal in the Premier League.
The Frenchman has struggled to win a place back in the side since recovering, and has slipped behind youth graduate Nabil Bentaleb in Sherwood’s preferences.
With Napoli thought to be very interested in the midfield enforcer, the Tottenham manager also confirmed an exit was a possibility.
“[It’s the] same with him. He’s a good lad who hasn’t given me a moment’s problem. I’ve gone with Nabil because I knew him and I am getting to know Etienne as well now,” he said.
“You have to be fair to the players. We have a lot of players in that midfield area and if the opportunity is right then we will let the player move on it.”
Both Holtby and Capoue have shown glimpses of the required quality to excel at Spurs, but have not been given a consistent run of games to prove their worth.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
