Tottenham Hotspur will soon take to the pitch for a fourth round FA Cup replay against Southampton FC, but today also brought the deadline to get UEFA Champions League rosters filled out. Given the busy January transfer window that the club has had, we’re going to see some major changes in the knockout round roster from what we saw in the group stage.
On one hand, Spurs will be stronger now in some areas, as they begin their round of 16 tie with RB Leipzig on February 18. They have their captain and No. 1 back, also there is addition by subtraction in the north London’s side having gotten rid of the players who really don’t want to be there. On the other hand, no Harry Kane.
Here’s a link to the latest on Kane’s fitness situation. Now let’s take a look at the changes made in between stages.
He’s in: Steven Bergwijn (transfer in from PSV Eindhoven), Hugo Lloris (back from elbow injury), Gedson Fernandes (loan move from Benfica)
He’s out: Christian Eriksen (transfer out to Inter Milan), Danny Rose (sent out loan on loan to Newcastle), Kyle Walker-Peters (sent out on loan to Southampton), Victor Wanyama, Troy Parrott (both left out)
Speaking of Eriksen, now he’s that out of White Hart Lane, he’s not holding back; at all. In a couple of different interviews with different outlets, the 27-year-old winger let it fly.
“If you have a short contract, you will be the black sheep,” Eriksen said to the BBC.
“I did get the blame for a lot of stuff, for being the bad guy. I read I was the bad person in the changing room, that ever since I said I wanted to leave, it was no good me being there. To be honest, over the last few years, if anything came up, any player would think about leaving but I was the guy who said it publicly.”
Not only did the Danish international discuss his being the designated scapegoat (at least in his mind), but he also hit out the club’s trophy drought.
“There’s a big chance of winning a trophy here or a bigger chance than where I was of course,” Eriksen said to Sky Sports Italia.
“The Champions League final was a very bad day, we lost which you don’t want to remember. I’m here to win and start something new. The last time I won something was at Ajax so it’s many years ago. I still remember the feeling so I want to achieve it here as well.”
Tottenham Hotspur Full UCL Knockout Round Squad
Hugo Lloris, Michel Vorm, Paulo Gazzaniga, Alfie Whiteman, Brandon Austin; Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vergtonghen, Davinson Sanchez, Serge Aurier, Juan Foyth, Ben Davies, Ryan Sessegnon, Japhet Tanganga, Timothy Eyoma; Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Erik Lamela, Moussa Sissoko, Giovani Lo Celso, Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele, Gedson Fernandes, Oliver Skipp, Jamie Bowden, Harvey White; Harry Kane, Lucas Moura, Heung-Min Son, Steven Bergwijn.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Southampton FC FYIs
February 5, 7:45 pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Team news for both sides: go to this link
TV and Live Stream: BT Sport 1 & BT Sport Ultimate
Referee: David Coote
Prediction: Tottenham 2, Southampton 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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