Spurs in the hunt for World Cup-winning midfielder
Published:Most of those who have witnessed Tottenham Hotspur’s poor start to the season would not have immediately thought that another midfielder was what was needed at White Hart Lane.
Spurs odds to claim a top-four spot are now as long as 7/1 after winning just three of their first nine games, but with their squad overloaded with midfielders, their reported interest in Cristoph Kramer seems odd.
After all, Mauricio Pochettino has often chosen to leave Paulinho – who was signed for £17m just last summer – out of his squad entirely due to the amount of options at his disposal.
However, there is clearly a feeling at Spurs that they do not have the right kind of midfielders available for their manager, and perhaps Kramer would be an improvement in quality even as he exacerbated the quantity problem.
The 23-year-old, who is currently on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach from Bayer Leverkusen, came to most people’s attention when he started the World Cup final for Germany.
Kramer lasted just 31 minutes before going off in that match with a head injury, but that has not stopped him beginning his domestic campaign in excellent form.
The all-action midfielder is averaging 3.1 tackles-per-game in his eight Bundesliga appearances so far, the 10th-best tally in the German top flight.
His last outing was against many of his international teammates as Borussia Mochengladbach held Bayern Munich to a 0-0 draw, with Kramer registering more tackles (5) and interceptions (5) than anyone else on the pitch.
Leverkusen have previously stated that Kramer will become a part of their first team after this loan spell, and there would be no shortage of other clubs challenging Spurs if he did become available.
However, the interest does at least suggest that Pochettino is keen on bringing some more dynamism to his lacklustre side, who are 4/9 to win their next match at home to Brighton in the Capital One Cup.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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