Emmanuel Adebayor is not quite at the status of journeyman, but the Togolese international has had his fair share of transfers.

Since his introduction to the English game, Adebayor has shown little sign of burgeoning long-term allegiances and presented his colleagues and managers with his fair share of strops down the years. His time at Tottenham has been up and down in itself, much like every club he has been at, and he has made himself even more unpopular with the Lilywhites faithful by making it hard for Levy to move him on.

Fortunately for those at White Hart Lane, Adebayor has finally moved on after a pretty turbulent summer that involved almost daily links to Aston Villa with the prospect of the ex-Arsenal man being reunited with Tim Sherwood. Inevitably, this fell through and Villa followed up other targets who were far more reasonable in their wage demands.

The nature of agent-run football means contract signings are going to have a huge impact on the circumstances of a player at a club, but Adebayor demonstrates this on extraordinary levels. Each of his loan moves in his career have seen a player unrecognisable to that of the season before, which must have some connection to the likelihood of a big pay day if a loan move works out positively.

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These loan spells, most notably at Tottenham, are what cause the immense frustration with Adebayor. The Togolese star’s form when on his initial loan in North London made him one of the most feared strikers in the league, but once his deal was made permanent the rapid decline in his performances, and (dare I say) effort was notable for all to see. Central defenders would’ve picked up on his dejected body language and his languid style changes from a relaxed outlook of a centre forward to somehow who looks disinterested.

Unfortunately, Tottenham fell into Adebayor’s selective form trap and were burdened with an overpaid player in their squad who was almost impossible to move on.

From his time at Arsenal, where he produced one season of brilliance, to his flop during his time at Spurs, Adebayor must have proved himself to be one of the most disappointing players in the league. Most irritatingly, it was never for a lack of talent or skill but pure application that made Adebayor such a hard player to like.

It is highly likely a lower level Premier League club will take the African star on just because of his name, but it is far less likely that he will ever put consecutive seasons together of the high class forward play he is capable of. Roberto Soldado may have failed at Tottenham, but there was never the same feeling that he had either given up or was simply happy to take his pay packet each week.

Of course, all of this is highly objective and opinion based, but Adebayor – perhaps through no fault of his own – managed to make football fans as a whole frustrated at his mere existence in the Premier League.

This player should be a brilliant experienced back up to Harry Kane, but he has ended up released and without a club. There is every chance that it all falls back in Adebayor’s lap again, but his money-driven approach to the game was always going to make it hard for him to be loved by any club.

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With the Rugby World Cup nearly here, the excitement is overwhelming as it is sure to bring crunching tackles, ferocious runs and powerful scrummages.

The stars of rugby are some tough lads and don’t take any nonsense, so the diving, faking of injury and over reactions in football would never be seen on a rugby pitch.

But if the stars of football played in the tournament, how would they do? Well some would get by, but we are going to take a look at the most pathetic footballers who wouldn’t last five minutes.

These are the players that care more about how they look than how they play, do ridiculous dives and shouldn’t be aloud to call themselves footballers.

These are the wimps of the football world…

Keep up with all the action from the 2015 Rugby World Cup with Rugby Right Now. Rugby Right Now brings all of rugby’s latest news, expert views and team and player social media platforms all together at the touch of your fingertips. Available to download now in the App Store on iOS or visit online at www.rugbyrightnow.com.

David Luiz- PSG

This man is in here for one piece of complete stupidity on his part, which happened when he was at Chelsea.

It was the final minute of a tense clash against Man United, Luiz and his team were 1-0 up, so all they had to do was hold on for the victory without any drama. But instead the Brazilian defender committed a the most ridiculous dive.

Not only was he at his own corner flag with no reason to dive what so ever, but after the centre back comically jumped to the ground he then faced the camera and laughed.

This display of as much arrogance still angers many today and lots feel he wasn’t punished as he should have been.

The school boy smug behaviour would be punished considerably in the world of rugby and many referees from the game do not like to be messed with, as current football players tend to surround officials.

As this clip below shows, rugby is nothing like football and clearly David Luiz needs a telling off from a rugby ref.

Adryan Oliveira Tavares- Leeds United

Another Brazilian, this time because of his unnecessary over reaction to a tackle.

The midfielder had already rounded his opponent, so the 21-year-old had won the foul fair and square, but when you dramatically role over twice and then get up only to dive through the air theatrically when you don’t even have an injury then you’re taking it a bit far. 

Adryan was rewarded for this by being voted the winner of the 2014 Fallon d’Floor award for the most theatrical dive of the year by users of Reddit.

Whereas rugby players take it like a man, as Rory Best did when he played on after breaking his arm in a match against New Zealand. I wonder how Adryan or, in fact, any football player would react to breaking their arm.

Luis Suárez- Barcelona

This Uruguayan mad man could be on here for so many reasons such as diving, racism and deliberate handball, but he is actually on here for his horrendous habit of biting opponents.

The forwards worst bite (he did it three times!) was his last one because of the stupidity of its occurrence. After already doing it twice before and been penalised most people had thought he had learnt his lesson but instead he did it a third time on the biggest stage of international football, the World Cup.

The habit has been described by many as disgusting, but it has also been explained as a feeble attempt to fight or let out his frustration but in rugby that would be laughed at.

As the video below shows, in rugby if you get angry you have to fight like a man.

Cristiano Ronaldo- Real Madrid

The Portugal international may be one of the best players in the world but he is also a big diver. Throughout his career he has had moments of madness where he has theatrically thrown himself to the ground after minimal contact, and especially at Man United where he picked up a bunch of yellow cards as well as winning lots of fouls unfairly.

The shameful behaviour is accompanied by critics saying he cares too much about how he looks, with former manager Jose Mourinho stating he spends too long in front of the mirror.

Ronaldo is one of the world’s best in football but this clip shows the world’s toughest from rugby and if the forward was on the wrong end of one of these tackles then he wouldn’t have a chance to dive.

Eden Hazard- Chelsea

The winger is not just on here because of his small size which would get him destroyed on a rugby pitch but because of who he picks a fight with.

It was the 23 January 2013 and Chelsea were trailing Swansea in the FA cup when a ball boy held on to the ball in an attempt to time waste so Hazard walked over to the young lad and kicked him.

The Belgian is very fast but that would not save him for long on a rugby pitch as this clip shows (below).

After picking on a boy from Swansea the Welsh rugby players would be quick to get him back and show him how rugby players tackle as all these footballers should experience.

Just when fresh managerial Remi Garde seemed to inject some optimism back into Aston Villa’s otherwise disappointing campaign with a draw against Manchester City during his first match at the Villa Park helm, the Birmingham outfit receive some rather harrowing news.

Left-back Jordan Amavi, one of the few summer additions from Ligue 1 to truly impress the Villa fans, has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

The Frenchman had been one of the Villains’ better performers during the Premier League’s twelve opening fixtures, averaging 3.6 tackles, 3.7 interceptions and 2.5 successful dribbles per match, and will inevitably leave a considerable void on the left side of their defence.

With many – including us at Football Fancast – unconvinced by understudy Kieran Richardson, Garde may find himself on the lookout for a direct replacement to Amavi in the January transfer window.

Here are Football FanCast’s top FIVE suggestions.

MARCOS ALONSO

Premier League fans may remember Marcos Alonso from his prior spells with Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland, helping the Black Cats stave off relegation under Gus Poyet during the 2013/14 campaign.

The former Real Madrid graduate currently plies his trade with Fiorentina and has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, claiming two goals and two assists in nine Serie A appearances whilst averaging 1.9 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per match.

A similar presence to Amavi, the Spaniard often finds himself deployed as a winger due to the attacking threat he poses. But Alonso is a solid defender as well; he measures in at 6 foot 2 and has already filled in at centre-back twice for Viola this term.

Intriguingly, the versatile full-back’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season. Although a new deal is reportedly close, Villa will have the chance to swoop if Fiorentina are still waiting for Alonso to sign on the dotted line come January.

GEORGE FRIEND

Middlesbrough’s George Friend has been knocking on the Premier League door for some time both with the Riverside outfit and via the transfer market – with countless top flight clubs linked to his signature over the last years.

The Barnstaple-born left-back, who has worked his way up to the Championship since representing Exeter City at National Conference level way back in 2005, is amid yet another solid season, averaging 3.1 tackles, 1.9 interceptions and 1.6 successful dribbles per match from his 15 league appearances.

Physically adept at 6 foot 2 but also blessed with a dash of attacking flair, Friend’s holistic all-round game could be exactly what Aston Villa need on their left-hand side.

Now 28 years of age, Friend doesn’t have long left if he plans to play top flight football, so even Boro’s current league standing of fourth might not be enough to resist the allure of Aston Villa in January.

ASHLEY COLE

One of the greatest defenders of the Premier League era, England’s most capped left-back of all time and one of the few full-backs to ever keep Cristiano Ronaldo quiet for a full ninety minutes (on quite a few occasions I might add), Ashley Cole is by no means the world-class No.3 he once was.

But the 34-year-old knows English football like the back of his hand and would certainly go a long way to addressing the imbalance of Premier League novices in Aston Villa’s squad.

Likewise, the former Three Lions man has endured a troubled time since leaving Chelsea for Roma in summer 2014. He’s gone on to make just eleven Serie A appearances and having not featured in any competition this season, is on the lookout for a new home in January.

Admittedly, it’s a bit of a punt from Villa’s perspective, considering Cole’s likely wage demands and his lack of first team football over the last two seasons. But every Premier League great deserves their swansong and keeping Villa in the top flight could well be the former Arsenal star’s.

FABIO

After initially showing great promise as a youngster at Manchester United, it has taken a move to Cardiff City for Fabio to resurrect his stuttering career.

No doubt, however, the former Brazil international is a talented player with good pedigree and probably should be plying his trade at a higher level than the Championship. Cardiff’s continued instability since his arrival in January 2014 has certainly done Fabio’s form no favours.

But now seventh in the table, the 25-year-old is finally beginning to show his true credentials, averaging 2.3 tackles and 2.9 interceptions per match this season. Perhaps not a groundbreaking set of statistics but when combined with his top flight experience, they suggest Fabio could do a job for a low-end Premier League side.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the Bluebirds will struggle to turn down offers matching their original £3million investment in January.

HENRI BEDIMO

Many would argue the last thing Aston Villa need is another recruit from Ligue 1 with no Premier League experience whatsoever, but Henri Bedimo represents a special case as a Remi Garde favouite from his Lyon days.

Indeed, the Cameroon international is a French football veteran, having represented the likes of Toulouse, Le Havre, Lens, Montpellier and the aforementioned Les Gones thoughout his career, and was brought to Stade de Gerland by Garde in summer 2013.

He’s a stocky, powerful runner with great energy and attacking flair – so is perhaps better suited to Premier League football than some of Villa’s summer additions.

Bedimo’s registered 65 league outings for Lyon but injuries have curtailed his game-time this season, with the equally experienced Jeremy Morel excelling in his absence.

With the versatile Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and prodigious defender Samuel Umtiti also providing cover at No.3, Lyon are unlikely to put up much of a fuss if Villa come knocking in January – especially considering Bedimo is now 31 years of age and into the final six months of his contract.

In the modern game, one of the things almost every club aims to avoid is losing a key player on a free transfer.

The Bosman ruling has increased the amount of power that players possess, while it also opens clubs to the possibility of losing one of their stars to a rival team.

In the case of Arsenal, seeing players leave the Emirates Stadium and join Manchester City has been something of a regular occurrence in the last decade. The likes of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy have all opted to depart North London in favour of a move to the Etihad Stadium.

However, one star that riled the Gunners hierarchy with his move to City was Bacary Sagna.

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The France international was in the last six months of his contract with the Emirates Stadium club at the start of 2014 and rejected a chance to extend with Arsene Wenger’s men.

Instead, the experienced right-back opted to see out his deal and move to City on a free transfer.

At the time the decision was seen as a real blow for Arsenal, with Wenger previously having labelled Sagna as the best right-back in the Premier League.

The former Auxerre defender had been with the Gunners for seven years and his decision to leave North London was in an ambition to win regular silverware. Sagna’s departure signified the continuation of Arsenal losing a host of their best players to Premier League rivals and suggested that Wenger’s men did not have the power to keep hold of their top stars.

Fast forward to the current day and Sagna’s exit could now be viewed as a blessing in disguise. The Frenchman’s decision to leave the London club provided an opportunity for current right-back and prodigious talent Hector Bellerin to win a spot in the Arsenal side.

The young Spaniard has excelled since being given the nod by Wenger and is quickly becoming one of the best players in his position in the English game.

WANT MORE? >> Arsenal transfer news | Latest transfer rumours

As Arsenal defeated City on Monday night, Sagna and his successor were pitted against one another and it was clear to see who looked like the more-rounded player. While the 32-year-old seems to be starting to show his age, Bellerin is quick, decisive and a threat going forward.

Theo Walcott and Nacho Monreal had a field day against their former team-mate and it was no coincidence that both of the North London hosts’ goals came from breaks down Sagna’s flank.

Interestingly, if you gave all the Arsenal players that have departed to join City the chance to go back in time and alter their decision, they all would surely seriously consider it.

Although the likes of Clichy and Nasri have tasted Premier League success with the Manchester club, not many have been able to tie down a regular first-team spot and were more impressive individually during their time in North London.

For Sagna, it remains to be seen whether he will experience success at City, while Arsenal look like a title challenger with Bellerin filling their right-back role.

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As Marko Arnautovic is beginning to behave himself at Stoke, it got us thinking at FFC of some of the players who were even harder to manage than the enigmatic Austrian.

In his current vein of form, Arnautovic is a brilliant threat for the Potters, but, like so many before him, he is always likely to have a nice little strop.

Some managers relish the challenge of the ego-driven stars, whilst others are happier to pick players who they know will listen to what their boss wants and put in the hard yards.

A far cry from Frank Lampard and David Beckham, there have been hundreds of Premier League players who have had all the talent, but none of the application and been constant headaches for their managers.

Arnautovic seems to be happy enough at Stoke at the moment, but there could be any moment that he causes an argument with Mark Hughes and forces himself to move clubs once more.

Here are FIVE players who were even harder to manage than Arnie..

Eric Cantona

From posey celebrations to flying kicks, Eric Cantona’s ego was as much a negative as it was a positive for Manchester United.

The Frenchman would probably have been moved on by any other manager, but Alex Ferguson managed to focus his mind and overlook the various discrepancies throughout his career.

Mario Balotelli

Fighting with Mancini and infuriating Rodgers, Balotelli seemed to be an impossible player to motivate.

One week he would be dominating defences and scoring goals, whilst the next he would hardly life his legs to make a run into the channel.

The Italians temper and tendency to face long bans must’ve been a nightmare for every manager.

Hatem Ben Arfa

Currently lighting the world up in Nice, Ben Arfa’s talent was never in question, it just made it all the more frustrating when he wouldn’t apply himself.

Apparently, the mazy dribbler would return back in the summer carrying plenty of weight and was not renowned for being a particularly hard worker in training or on the pitch.

Steve Bruce attempted to give him a lifeline at Hull, but he was so disinterested that the manager terminated his loan and Alan Pardew swiftly moved him on.

Adel Taarabt

Adel Taarabt, as I’m sure he would tell you, has all the talent in the world.

However, since getting QPR promoted a few seasons back, the attacking midfield player has shown that an attitude that bad cancels out whatever talent you have.

QPR rightly let their man go, as his inability to contribute anything when out of possession made him an utter liability.

Joey Barton

Now in the Championship, Joey has been on his best behaviour of late.

Since his days of cigarettes in people’s eyes and misbehaving in night clubs, Barton has calmed down and now he uses social media to reflect his interesting views on the world.

The pinnacle of Barton’s erratic behaviour must have been his assassination attempt on Sergio Aguero on the final day of the 11/12 season and managers have had to deal with one monster ego and endless suspensions.

Unlike the others on this, at least Barton works hard, but its not always about football.

Reading again this season have proven that the gap in quality between the Premier League and Championship is not as wide as once thought.

This comes after the Royals progressed to the FA Cup quarter finals after beating West Brom 3-1, looking the better team in the process. Their reward is a home tie against Crystal Palace on the 12th March, paving the way for a return of Alan Pardew.

But the recent high quality performances aren’t flukes. Last season in the FA Cup, Reading did get all the way to Wembley in the semis, only to be knocked out by the eventual winners Arsenal thanks to an Adam Federici blunder.

Since then Federici has been sold to Bournemouth, with Ali Al Habsi and Jonathan Bond fighting it out for the No.1 shirt. Steve Clarke could not replicate the managerial skill he showed at West Brom, and has been replaced by fan favourite Brian McDermott, too.

McDermott of course is Reading through and through, and was the man behind their 2012/13 season in the Premier League, when he led them up alongside Southampton and West Ham to promotion. Sadly for McDermott he was sacked halfway through the campaign and replaced by Nigel Adkins, who could not stop the Berkshire outfit from falling back down.

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Since then Reading have struggled to fight for promotion from the Championship, and currently sit in 16th, 16 points off the play-off spots. They have struggled to fight alongside the big boys, and the changing of the guard did no favours for the Royals.

With matches left against the big boys, a late promotion push could still prove to be possible, although it would be highly unlikely. Next season might be a better opportunity, as long as they keep hold of their current squad. Currently they have a good mix of experience and talented players, whom have fought for promotion before. The signing of Paul McShane was a great steal from Hull, as well as good loan additions such as Matej Vydra from Watford, Michael Hector (back from Chelsea) and Lucas Piazon from Blues, too. Alex Fernandez from Espanyol and Ola John from Benfica joined as well.

Within their ranks Reading have great talent, and if they can keep hold of key men there is no reason why they cannot continue to shock the elite sides in the FA Cup and perhaps pull off a late promotion push. With a tie against Palace, the Royals may be able to squeeze past, as the Londoners have struggled in the league recently and are finding goals hard to come by. If Reading use their home advantage, we could be in for a cup shock.

When you consider the experience of McDermott, there is no reason that Reading could not be amongst the Premier League’s 20 clubs sooner rather than later. They have a lot of experience within their squad, and a set up that is more suited for Premier League football. If they can tie down this talent on permanent deals, promotion is a realistic aim for 2016/17.

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Second in the Premier League, three points behind the leaders Leicester and three points ahead of rivals Arsenal.

Throw that into the pot and add some Europa League success and it looks like it is the best season for many a decade to be a Spurs fan right now.

The manager who brought in his own philosophy and bought the right players to make that work, has said: “Nobody speaks about the title in our dressing room. We believe we can win every game and we’ll see what happens.”

43-year-old Pochettino, in his second season as Tottenham boss, is stealing a march over the usual top four clubs this year and could win the club it’s first Premier League title, while those around him are faltering.

“It is not important that Arsenal lost,” said Pochettino to Sky Sports. “What is important is our own performance and there are still 11 Premier League games ahead.”

The young academy players are also getting a look in at White Hart Lane and that can only bode well for the club’s future in a world of extortionate transfer fees.

The danger for every other Premier League club is that the more Tottenham play, the stronger they seem to get and there seems no end to their form, either in the domestic league or in Europe. Fiorentina are no push-overs in Serie A, yet Spurs swept them aside.

They have shown resilience and a spirit of never say die, their comeback over Swansea City last weekend underlined their stoic play. It also proved they can win without Harry Kane. Alarm bells should be sounding across the Premier League, as Spurs will undeniably push Leicester all the way, whatever the other clubs are doing.

Borussia Dortmund are next in Europe for Spurs and will provide a sterner test for the men from North London, but there is every expectation that the good news will just keep coming for Spurs fans.

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It’s not all plain sailing, though. Once you start to make a name for yourself, other clubs take notice. Last summer, Manchester United were meant to be interested in Harry Kane – now they could be interested in the Spurs manager instead.

Pochettino said recently: “My focus is here, to try for success at Tottenham and to work hard. That’s all about rumours. I don’t mind, we are supposed to receive the rumours and we are in a media that all is about rumours.

“But I don’t care about that. I always work for the present and the future. I’m very happy here. We’ve created after 18 months a very good group, with a strong basis for success in the future and I’m very happy.

Not only are times good for Spurs fans on the field, but off the field as well. Their £400million new stadium has edged another step closer after the club’s plans were approved by the Mayor of London.

Spurs hope to complete the 61,000 capacity stadium for the 2018-19 season and Boris Johnson has now given the thumbs up to the scheme, which received the backing of Haringey Council in December.

However, the famous old club needs more than to just get into the Champions League here or there. They could be in the mix every season. They are also highly ambitious and capable of so much.

They attract quality players and only now need to build on the stability of the club by keeping Pochettino and buying a player that adds that extra dimension to the squad.

This, in effect, is a team worth watching in the future because they are possibly the only team that could consistently break up the supposed big four.

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In what’s been a season that’s seen Leicester City players shot into the spotlight and international stage, one man seems to have been forgotten: Marc Albrighton.

Where his fellow team-mates N’Golo Kanté and Jamie Vardy have rightly made their international debuts for France and England respectively this season, Albrighton is yet to receive the call from manager Roy Hodgson.

Albrighton has appeared for both the U20 and U21 England sides and now, at the age of 26, has shown this season he deserves the biggest stage of all.

Breaking into the Aston Villa squad in the 2009-10 season, Albrighton was a prominent figure under Martin O’ Neill as Villa looked to make the Champions League places. The midfielder looked like he was going to earn an England debut then, but it never materialised and Albrighton’s career began to stall.

Loaned out to Wigan Athletic in 2013 it looked as though that early promise would prove futile. To cap it off, Albrighton was released by Villa in 2014 before being signed on a free by Leicester. He became a forgotten man, just another player to have featured in the Premier League. How times have changed, as he has been a regular fixture in the Foxes side ever since, and Albrighton looks to be back at his best in their quest for the title.

The key to England’s success at Euro 2016 is going to be them being able to spring some surprises against the biggest sides. Over the years England have been a very predictable opponent at tournaments, whether that be through tiredness after a long domestic season or simply not being technically good enough. This year, though, one thing England can boast is that they have a much younger team that the opposition won’t know much about.

Marc Albrighton offers something that few other English players do in the sense of how direct his running is. The winger has always been able to take on his opposing full back and deliver a cross – and looking at England’s squad, that ability is lacking.

There are of course players that can beat men, Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling are two that will be on the plane who certainly can. Likewise, there are some players that will travel to France that can cross a ball, James Milner has 11 assists this calendar year, many from wide positions. But in terms of combining both attributes only Marc Albrighton seems to have this at the moment.

Then consider who might go instead of Albrighton. Theo Walcott, Ashley Young and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all might consider themselves with good chances of making the squad. But have they done as well as Albrighton this year or even played as consistently well? The likely answer is no.

This isn’t to say that Albrighton will be the first name on the teamsheet but he should be in the squad to ensure Hodgson has the option of what the right midfielder can offer. There may be times at the Euros where England need to stretch the play and get some more width, currently England look a very narrow team with players like the aforementioned Sterling preferring to cut inside.

Albrighton offers width, crossing ability and the element of the unknown that the England squad seems to be embracing this year. For these reasons, he deserves a Euro spot.

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Whether it was ever a title race or not between Spurs and Leicester, the latter have won and are deservedly champions of England.

Spurs, although never really breathing down the Foxes’ necks, hung in there for the latter half of the campaign and have, arguably, been the best side in English football over the past few months, and this positivity must be harnessed.

Indeed, a campaign of Champions League football awaits – which would have been seen as a fantastic achievement before a ball was kicked – which will allow Mauricio Pochettino to keep his star names and sprinkle his squad with a little bit of star dust over the summer.

And that’s what the club must do; just make a few choice additions to compliment what’s already happening. That said, depth will be needed with the rotation that ‘Poch’ seized in the Europa League not an option for next season, but there’s no need to spend big, because the Londoners have plenty of options ready to step up.

With that in mind, here are FIVE youngsters that may well save the Argentine a fortune in the coming months…

DeAndre Yedlin

On loan at Sunderland, Yedlin’s performances have been a key part of Sunderland’s relatively strong survival hopes. The America international originally signed for the Lilywhites from Seattle Sounders back in 2015, but spent six months acclimatising to English football with the Londoners before being pushed into the deep end at the Stadium of Light.

Initially it looked as though the 22-year-old may indeed drown in the rising tide of relegation in the North East, but he’s come to the fore as the campaign has progressed, very much learning on the job under Sam Allardyce.

Pochettino is known to be a manager that demands a lot of his full-backs, so with top level European football and domestic responsibilities, Yedlin looks likely to get plenty of football alongside Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier, while his ferocious pace could make him a late counter-attacking option further up the field.

Josh Onomah

The 19-year-old has dipped in and out of the senior side this term, playing semi-regularly in the Europa League, while making seven appearances, all as a sub, in the Premier League.

Standing at 5ft. 11, Onomah is no giant in the holding midfield area of the pitch, but the England U19 international is tenacious, energetic and able to cover the ground, which may make him more appealing going forward that the once highly-rated Nabil Bentaleb.

Unlikely to be a starter, the teenager possesses sufficient quality and fits Pochettino’s plans well enough to be a squad player, which, at his age, may be enough to keep him happy.

Clinton N’Jie

We often see it… players that come in at a young age have a difficult first season before exploding in their second full campaign.

N’Jie has slipped further and further from the starting XI in recent times, due in part to injury issues, but the Cameroonian has too much raw potential to be written off just yet, and looks in the mould of a player that can shine once he’s taken to the pace and physicality of the Prem – Erik Lamela is a prime example of this.

The 22-year-old is able to play in any attacking midfielder role, and could well be a useful tool in Europe next season when Spurs could be forced into a rigid counter-attacking system against bigger sides – whom they’re likely to face given the Champions League’s seeding system.

Cameron Carter-Vickers

Already dubbed the ‘new Ledley King’, Carter-Vickers is extremely highly thought of behind the scenes at White Hart Lane, with his athleticism and maturity having drawn comparisons with the aforementioned Lilywhites idol.

The teenager’s inclusion in the European matchday squad against Monaco earlier in the campaign set tongues wagging among the north Londoners’ fanbase – as did his trip with the squad to face Fiorentina in the last 32 – but supporters are yet to get a glimpse of him in competitive action.

Alas, pre-season could hand the USA U-23 international a chance to impress Pochettino, who, beyond Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Kevin Wimmer, is not exactly blessed with centre-back options.

Harry Winks

Like his fellow midfielder, Onomah, Winks has had a few fleeting outings for Spurs in the Europa League this term, and although he’s amassed just 17 minutes of game time, he’s shown enough both in the senior ranks and in the youth teams to somewhat justify the hype.

Although talented, the lack of a defensive edge to his midfield game may see Winks overlooked by Pochettino, but in games where a little more guile is needed, the 20-year-old could be a useful option from the bench.

Before the European Championships, Hal Robson-Kanu had just left Championship side Reading.

In the aftermath of Wales’ Euro 2016 semi-final loss to Portugal, Robson-Kanu admitted that his performances in France had increased the demand for his services. He said he had received offers from “the Premier League and the rest of the world,” though hinted at a preference to stay in England.

Moments like his winning goal against Slovakia, and the Cruyff turn with which he bamboozled Belgium’s defenders, have made hot property of someone who has played the majority of his football in the Championship.

The 27-year-old came through Reading’s academy and had loan spells with both Southend and Swindon before establishing himself in the first team and making over 200 appearances.

With his superb displays in France effectively putting him in the European shop window, offers are starting to come in quickly.

“I had offers before the tournament – good offers from good, progressive clubs – but I made a decision to wait,” Robson-Kanu told BBC Sport. 

“I made a decision to run my contract at Reading down. I’ve been there 12 years, given a lot of service and felt it was the best decision for myself and my career. It’s probably one of the best decisions of my life.

“I’ve made no secret of my desire to play in the Premier League and if that’s the best place for me then I’ll be there.”

A number of Premier League clubs have now begun to call Robson-Kanu’s agent among them Leicester City, Southampton and Watford have all wanted to talk to the Welshman, but it’s Hull City who are reportedly are leading the charge for his signature.

Hull boss Steve Bruce, quoted by the BBC recently said of Robson-Kanu: “We are booked in for talks with him and to see him in the next few days. Do we intend to offer him a deal? Yes.”

Bruce also stressed Hull are not the only club hoping to recruit Robson-Kanu.

“I think Hal is a good age, has had a sort of rebirth if you like, of playing through the middle, because before that he has played wide most of the time,” Bruce said.

“He is big, strong, powerful, quick and somebody who runs the other way, in football terms. I know we have got competition, so let’s see what we can do.”

Calls from China have also been confirmed with salaries of £100,000-per-week being mentioned. According to the Mirror, Jiangsu Suning and Beijing Guoan are willing to splash mega money on the 27-year-old after he caught the eye during the Euros with Abu Dhabi side Al Jazira Club also tracking the Welsh wizard.

It appears that one good tournament can make or break a player and in Robson-Kanu’s case, it has been the making of him. Despite assurances from potential managers that this talents hadn’t gone unnoticed prior to the championships, they certainly didn’t do him any harm.

Wherever he goes next season, fans will be watching for more of the Cruyff turn and that Welsh magic.

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