More thoughts on Spurs news/follow up to Spurs 25/26 potential squad changes
Robert Vilahamn led the squad to an incredibly underwhelming season finishing 11th out of 12 teams in the WSL while having, according to Soccerdonna, the 5th most valuable squad in the league (player valuations in the women's game are even more difficult compared to the men's game and even then it's an inexact science). There was quite a bit of turnover in the squad in the summer of 2024, as Grace Clinton and Celin Bizet leaving for Manchester United left massive holes in the attacking midfield lines which Spurs didn't adequately sort out. The players that did come in during the summer window, with the exceptions of Ella Morris and Maite Oroz, failed to make the desired impact.
This excellent article from the Halfway Line along with other FBRef data suggest that Spurs have fairly middling ball progression numbers which may go some way to explain why Spurs couldn't control games and faltered against the top teams. Emma Sanders reported back in mid-May that the club is considering the future of the Swedish coach so it's very possible that he won't get a 3rd season to try to stabilise the club in the WSL.
The two areas where I'm not quite sure who Spurs should look to bring in are CB and RW. Both positions have options there (for now as I wouldn't be surprised if Hayley Raso leaves) so I'm hoping that the recruitment team, which is due extra support, over the summer, as we know that Robert Vilahamn was tasked with trying to bring in players (which shouldn't really be the case in the modern day), is able to comb over the leagues to improve.
Also, I'm under no illusion that the club would be able to attract world beaters as the recruitment strategy has tended to be to get bench players from bigger teams, mixed in with some promising younger players. I think it'd be a good idea to try to look for u23(roughly) players that have good potential for the long term. This is also due to the fact that Spurs' 2 best signings in the last two summers have been scouted/recommended based on England u23 references from now former assistant coach, Vicky Jepson, in Grace Clinton and Ella Morris.
I can appreciate that Championship/WSL2 players may not sound like ambitious recruiting on the surface, although Morris came into this Spurs team after coming through Southampton's academy and getting big minutes in tier 3 and then tier 2 to star as the starting RB. Sticking with Morris, she unfortunately tore her ACL in England training this week so RB may be another area the club looks to bolster for at least the first half of the season.
Due the Morris news, I think Spurs should look to Mari Ward from Bristol City as a very good short and long term rival for Morris' starting RB spot. 19 year-old Ward can also cover as a LB effectively and possibly even play higher up on the wings. She still has a good amount of development left to do to adapt to playing in a back 4 after being a wing-back in a back 5 for Bristol this past season.
I'm of the opinion that Becky Spencer should be allowed to leave this summer - the club also allowed her to join Chelsea on an emergency loan where she got 0 minutes across all competitions. To allow Eleanor Heeps to remain as a 3rd choice keeper, Spurs should look at free agent, Rafaela Borggräfe, to challenge/take over the starting goalkeeper role from Lize Kop, who looked decent but I think would benefit from having to fight for the 1st choice keeper slot. At 25 years old, Borggräfe was one of the best keepers in the Frauen Bundesliga who is excellent on the ball with both feet, has decent box presence to close angles and claim crosses and is an able sweeper to deal with long balls which is something that Spurs could desperately do with.
The two players I'd look to bring in for central midfield would be Lucia Kendall (21) from Southampton and Jemima Dahou (19) from Blackburn, who, as far as I can tell are both free agents. Although the central midfield area may seem clogged, I'm so high on Kendall that I believe that she could get good minutes across all competitions as she's so technically secure that she'd fit in with the technical levels of the other midfielders in the squad from the 6 role up to the number 10. Dahou (see the link to Mari Ward for my take on her) is much less polished as a player and would definitely need a loan back to the WSL2 to get more minutes and establish herself as a deep lying 6 due to that being a role I think she could flourish in. The former Man City academy midfielder is a great technician but needs to adapt to the physical elements of the senior game in order to live up to her potential.
For the 9 spot, Larissa Mühlhaus would still be an absolute dream signing, who would, admittedly, be very difficult to get over the line due to the interest in her from top German clubs, and because she's only played one season for Werder Bremen. The 22 year-old German is tall at 5'9, has a good physical presence in terms of strength, can carry the ball in isolated situations, hold the ball up to a high level to create chances for teammates, and score goals despite limited service.
Spurs' academy seems like it's continuing to improve and the recruitment on that front seems quite good. Zara Bailey joined from Oxford United in 2024 to join the u16's and made her first team debut off the bench against Crystal Palace in the Subway League cup in December 2024 and also captained England u16 earlier this year. Persis Oteng scored 15 goals in the PGA league which played a part in RB Leipzig picking her up as a free agent. Mia Endacott is also making waves having scored and assisted over 20 goals in all competitions as a first year winger in the u21's after arriving from Plymouth Argyle in the summer. The talent is pretty clearly there so I really hope that whoever is the head coach over the next few years is willing and able to integrate youth players better into the senior squad.
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