So whose place on the bench will Steven Pienaar warm?
For the first time in many years Tottenham have a wealth of talented midfielders at their disposal to more than cover every position. It seems an extremely strange signing unless Pienaar has been brought in to pave the way for the departure of one of Spurs first team players?
Pienaar by all accounts seems a model professional who has performed well under the guidance of David Moyes to become an integral part of the Everton team. The player was out of contract at the end of the season and offers are thought to have been tabled from top European clubs, in addition to Spurs and Chelsea. With such interest, the player must have been given certain assurances by Redknapp that he would be given a starting role in the Spurs line-up. Which poses the question, for whom?
On the left Bale has become a key figure in the Spurs midfield, as has Modric who has been a revelation in the central midfield role this season. Lennon has been much preferred to Kranjcar and Bentley on the right and VDV has cemented his place off of the main striker. So unless Redknapp intends to have the smallest, most vulnerable central midfield partnership in the league it would seem someone from the first team will be on their way.
For me Pienaar is a great player but a return of 12 goals from 132 appearances from an attacking midfielder suggests he is not an adequate replacement for any of these first team players. Pienaar is only a marginal improvement on the promising players Spurs already have at their disposal to come off the bench like Kranjcar, Gio, Sandro and Townsend whose first-team chances will now be even more limited.
What are your thoughts, will Pienaar be a bench warmer or does his arrival pave the way for the highly anticipated exit of one of Spurs most valuable assets?
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