With two weeks remaining in the January transfer window, there have been countless rumours surrounding potential Tottenham Hotspur signings but no new faces to report as yet.
While there is every likelihood that the month will pass without any additions to Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs squad, bringing in reinforcements would surely be a sensible move as the fixtures pile up.
Mid-season is traditionally a tough time to sign players of quality for Tottenham and every team, as clubs do not want to lose their prize assets halfway through the campaign.
However, there may well be an unused opportunity that Spurs and the other top Premier League teams consistently overlook.
Why is it an unspoken rule that Tottenham and other silverware-chasing English sides do not loan players from other teams?
The loan market is seemingly reserved for clubs in the lower echelons of the Premier League or Football League that take fringe men from the top sides to bolster their ranks.
But, there is nothing stopping Tottenham from looking to the continent to pick up a new player or two on loan for the rest of the season.
Instead of paying over the odds and shelling out tens of millions mid-season, Spurs could pay a couple of million on a loan fee to get the required additional depth Pochettino’s squad requires.
An example – Tottenham have been linked with a host of wingers and attacking midfielders this month to offer an extra option in the final third.
Both Nicolas Gaitan and Kevin Gameiro have been touted as reported targets over recent years, with the attacking currently pair struggling for game-time at Atletico Madrid.
The European press speculate that both are available – what is stopping Tottenham making a loan move for one of these international forwards, or both?
Looking at it objectively, while certainly there are complexities in loan deals and certain guarantees need to be made, Spurs shouldn’t automatically dismiss the option just because they are one of the ‘big’ clubs in England.
Plenty of top teams on the continent sign players on loan from other teams – think James Rodriguez, Kingsley Coman, Juan Cuadrado and Kylian Mbappe.
While buying new stars in the January transfer window that can improve the Tottenham squad would involve a considerable financial undertaking, Spurs should look towards the loan market to potentially achieve the feat at reduced risk and cost.