England Clear-Out for Spurs?

Sting once sung about being an Englishman in New York, but Englishmen could soon be just as alien in North London if rumours are to be believed that Tottenham could sell up to five of their English players in the summer.

Neighbours Arsenal are renowned for often fielding sides without any English players, with only Theo Walcott and occasionally Justin Hoyte pushing for places, and now Juande Ramos could be set for a similar approach, according to The Express today. Only Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate are safe from the reported cull. This leaves Paul Robinson, Michael Dawson, Jermaine Jenas, Darren Bent and even the ressurgent Tom Huddlestone’s futures under threat.

The Espanyol duo of keeper Carlos Kameni and defender Daniel Jarque are both being linked with moves to White Hart Lane, with Robinson and Dawson paving the way. Darren Bent could be replaced with David Villa or Diego Milito, and Tiago was a January target which would put centre midfield places under threat. According to one report, only 5 players in the whole squad have been declared ‘untouchable’ by Ramos – with Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Alan Hutton joining Woodgate and King on that list.

It certainly shows a ruthless streak in Ramos, a man who once reduced his Sevilla team to 10 men because they weren’t playing with enough ‘intensity’. Despite winning the Carling Cup and turning round a torrid start to the season, he clearly feels there is room for improvement. Some changes are understandable. Darren Bent has been a misfiring flop and Paul Robinson is clearly out of favour. The most surprising of these ‘threatened’ players for me is Tom Huddlestone, a player whose strength and promise is matched by a fantastic range of passing and positional versatility. Losing him would for me be as big a mistake as letting Jermain Defoe go, and it’s certainly a brave move on Ramos’ part to attempt to completely rebuild the spine of his team.