Tottenham Hotspur might not necessarily have the silverware to show it, but they have been blessed with some incredible players over the years.
The likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min helped to define the Premier League during the Mauricio Pochettino era.
Gareth Bale was arguably the best player in the world during the 2012/13 season, and even some of the less celebrated stars like Jermain Defoe remain English footballing icons.
However, while the North Londoners have had plenty of incredible talents over the years, they have also endured a fair few flops as well, with perhaps no group of disappointments more iconic than the ‘magnificent seven’ signed after Bale’s departure, which included one player who seriously failed to deliver on his promise.
The 'magnificent seven'
Okay, let’s start with the only signing who was an unmitigated success with Spurs: Christian Eriksen.
He joined the club from Ajax for £11.5m and would go on to make 305 appearances for the club, in which he’d score 69 goals, provide 88 assists, and reach the Champions League final in 2019.
The other player who could be argued to be a success in North London was Erik Lamela, who joined the club from AS Roma for about £25.7m and would go on to make 257 appearances for the club, in which he racked up 44 assists and 37 goals, including a Puskas winner in the North London Derby that is every bit as spectacular as you’d expect it to be.
Unfortunately for the Lilywhites, every other player signed with the Bale money proved to be flops of varying degrees.
The likes of Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches, and Paulinho all eventually left the club having made little to no impact.
However, one final player in that group joined with a lot of expectations on his shoulders that the others did not, and so his failure in North London received far more attention from fans and pundits alike, and understandably so.
Roberto Soldado's Spurs career
Yes, the player in question is, of course, Roberto Soldado, which is a name that might still send shivers down the spines of Spurs fans to this very day.
The North Londoners paid Valencia a hefty fee of £26m to secure the Spaniard’s signature in August 2013, and considering he had just scored 30 goals and provided five assists in 46 games the season before, it’s easy to understand why.
Moreover, as he was coming to the club in such incredible form, it made sense why Defoe described him as a player who could take the Lilywhites to the “next level” that summer, but unfortunately for all involved, that did not even come remotely close to happening.
“I can see why Spurs fans would be excited about Soldado coming because I am excited myself about the prospect of playing with him. He is a fantastic striker – sharp around the box and hungry to score goals.” – Defoe on Soldado.
Instead, the man who couldn’t stop scoring just the season before suddenly looked like an entirely average striker at best, and as journalist Sam Tighe said, “the flop of the season” at worst.
Now, in his defence, he did end his first season with 11 goals and five assists in 36 games, which looks alright. Still, in his 28 Premier League games, he only scored six goals and provided five assists, which is undeniably disappointing for a player expected to challenge for the Golden Boot.
Appearances
51
46
36
40
Goals
27
30
11
5
Assists
6
5
5
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.64
0.76
0.44
0.27
Moreover, in his second season in England, the Valencia-born marksman could only muster a meagre return of five goals and six assists in 40 appearances, after which he was sold to Villarreal for just £7m that summer.
Over the following eight seasons, the 12-capped international would play for the Yellow Submarines, Fenerbahçe, Granada and Levante, but he would never reach the same incredible heights he did at Valencia before finally retiring last summer.
Ultimately, Soldado was an undeniably talented striker – you only have to look at his record for Valencia to see that – but for whatever reason, he was an unequivocal flop at White Hart Lane and couldn’t quite live up to Defoe’s lofty expectations.
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1 ByDan EmerySep 23, 2024