Bassong in; Bent out

Well it seems Sebastien Bassong has all but joined the club. Whilst I’m glad Harry has finally bought another centre back, I’m not too glad it’s Bassong. As you’d know if you read my post from yesterday, I don’t really rate Bassong, and £8 million (the reported fee) seems awfully steep. To add to that, the Frenchman will miss the first two games of the season after he was sent off in Newcastle’s last game of the season. Great.

Perhaps I am being a little pessimistic, but there are far better alternatives out there. Ryan Shawcross for one. Alas; Spurs seem to have a big spending mentality. The club seem to think it’s better to spend out on a relatively unproven player rather then spending less on a proven, but unglamorous player. We’re one of the Premier Leagues biggest spenders- but look where it’s got us.

Going back to the matter in question however, I’m pleased we’ve actually signed an out and out centre back. Whilst he may not be as good as King, Woodgate or Dawson, Bassong will (hopefully) be better than an out of position Tom Huddlestone in the heart of our defence. Harry’s long been a fan telling journalists earlier today how much he rates Bassong.

“I like him very much. He is young with a good future,” ‘Arry said.

“The chairman is talking with Newcastle, I don’t get involved on that side of it. Though if the chairman tells me we’ve got him I’ll be delighted.”

Fortunately for fans hoping Bassong isn’t the only defensive signing, Harry hinted he may still be in the market for either Turner or Christopher Samba.

“You have to keep strengthening the squad if you can and moving forward. Jonathan has got an injury and Michael Dawson, who did terrific for us last season, is also injured and he is going to miss the start of the season.”

Hopefully this means we’ll end up with another defender before the season kicks-off, but I wouldn’t be too hopeful. It now seems the club will be concentrating on bringing in another midfielder. Sissoko apparently wants to stay at Toulouse which is slightly disappointing (though I would have been more disappointed if we’d spent £12 million on him which the papers were saying) and Gago, the Real Madrid midfielder we were linked with, is reportadly staying at Madrid.

Elsewhere, Darren Bent has finally completed his move to Sunderland. In a press conference at his new club, Bent had a few subtle digs at Spurs, commenting on the “politics at the club”. Bent also spoke of his frustration at the length of the transfer.

“I just wanted to come to Sunderland. I am delighted to be here,” he said.

“I’m a Sunderland player now and it seems a lot more relaxed here. There is a lot of politics at Tottenham, but that’s Tottenham as a club.”

Whilst I’m not sad to see him go, I wish Bent the best of luck at Sunderland. I always thought he had a hard task at Spurs. At the start of last season he was playing as a lone striker, whilst trying to somehow replicate the 45 odd goals scored by the much lauded Robbie Keane-Dimitar Berbatov strike partnership. Bent’s not a bad player, but he never really hit it off with the Spurs fans. We adore strikers who play with a bit of confidence- a quality which Bent seemed to desperately be lacking in.

Usually when a senior player leaves Spurs I include a little video of all the good times he gave the Spurs fans, but moments like that seem to be few and far between for Bent, so here’s a video of him scoring some goals for Ipswich instead. Enjoy.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xpl3yJZVQA]