Premier League Transfer Window Quietly Closes With All-London Showdown On The Horizon

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – As the transfer window closed at 4:00 p.m. MST on February 1 the squads were all set for the rest of the season, whether by choice or bad luck.

It was pretty quiet for the most part, and most of the deals were cheap or loan deals as we see the effects of the pandemic hurt clubs financially.

West Brom went into overdrive on deadline day, with a couple of very important deals as they look to fight tooth and nail for EPL survival; Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming from Arsenal and Okay Yokuslu from Celta Vigo could be huge for Sam Allardyce.

Brighton beat Liverpool for the first time in #PL history#LIVBHA pic.twitter.com/v8G3rk5tnG

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 3, 2021

Champions Liverpool also made moves to help their depleted defensive options. With Joel Matip ruled out for the rest of the season, already without Virgil van Djik and Joe Gomez with long term injuries, the defending champions had to make moves. With Ben Davies coming in from Preston and Ozan Kabak from Schalke to compete for starting positions and look for Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to move back to the midfield.

It was a fascinating transfer window and I’m intrigued to see how transfer windows shape up after the pandemic is under control and teams get into a better financial footing. Italy has long used the loan system better than most countries and it might be a sign of things to come possibly.

Tottenham Hotspur v. Chelsea

Thursday’s all London showdown is a big one. Kicking off at 1:00 p.m. MST on Peacock TV. It’s certainly the pick of the midweek round. Spurs, after a promising start, have lost momentum. Losing two on the bounce and also losing Harry Kane to injury has made matters worse. They were controlled in the loss to Liverpool. And Brighton managed to contain them as well.

Jose Mourinho is a good coach, he’s a great organizer but something is missing.

For starters, Spurs aren’t as good as everyone would have you believe but there is a very solid core, something to build upon. The style of soccer is an issue. I’m all for teams adapting and evolving. Although this counter-attacking style Mourinho loves is good, we very rarely see a plan b. Which leads to some of the issues we’re seeing. Gareth Bale is nowhere near the product that moved to Real Madrid back in 2013. I would say that Dele Alli’s failed move to PSG is a good thing for Spurs. I know he’s not been at his best the last couple of years, but I truly believe, if Mourinho can somehow unlock his ability again that he would be a massive plus for Spurs. But it’s on Mourinho, I’m not sure if it’s a pride thing, but the falling out with players and publicly shaming players has to take its toll on the relationship between manager and player. I can count on one finger the number of times Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have done something like that. It never ends well and for all of Jose Mourinho’s ability, something isn’t right. Obviously, I don’t see what happens day in day out over at Spurs, but I think Spurs are underperforming. And that is on everyone.

A key goal from Coco 👊#THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/iJVdaLE69d

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 3, 2021

This doesn’t mean Spurs are nailed down to lose this match. As I said, Mourinho knows how to organize and set up defensively. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few tricks up his sleeve to ensure they don’t lose. Especially as they have a game in hand over Chelsea as they sit level on points (33).

Chelsea moved swiftly to replace Frank Lampard with former Borussia Dortmund and PSG coach, Thomas Tuchel. A really good appointment in my opinion. Tactically he is very good, preferring his teams to move the ball quickly but maintaining possession and you saw an immediate impact. You saw them control Wolves in his first game in charge, and even though it was a nil-nil result, you saw what his ideas were. Burnley was a little more cut and dry. A solid 2-0 victory and again, good and swift ball movement. This will be a proper test though. Spurs are looking to end the two-game losing streak by any means and Mourinho is a master with a tight defense and hitting teams on the counter-attack.

Who is Thomas talking to here? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/584Ojyt8ux

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 3, 2021

Tuchel will be looking to swiftly get Chelsea’s season back on track and get their big-money summer signings firing in on cylinders. Kai Havertz and Timo Werner he’s familiar with, and it’s the hope that with his ability to nurture young talent that he’ll get them to a place that justifies the huge outlay Chelsea made.

One player that has seen himself able to show his skills immediately is Callum Hudson-Odoi. In the last season and a half he was often a bit-part player, but Tuchel trusted him immediately, and in the last two games Hudson-Odoi has shown what he is about, demonstrating an ability that made him a transfer target for German giants Bayern Munich. Some well-documented issues off the field threatened to derail a promising young career, but at the ripe old age of 20, he seems to have things back on track, and performances, like he had against Burnley, can be a stepping stone of unleashing his raw talent.

Tuchel will have a hard time against the Spurs and much like Burnley they’ll look to clog the midfield and keep things tight between the midfield and backline, all the while worrying about Spurs’ counter attacking threat.

Whilst Chelsea have shown positive signs immediately under Tuchel, it might be a little more cat and mouse as Spurs do have the quality to match Chelsea. I do make the Blues slight favorites, but that is more about soccer style. I can’t pick a winner.