The international break came at the worst possible time for Tottenham Hotspur.
They beat Manchester United 6-1 before the Premier League broke up, utterly demolishing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
That result came after a fine week for Jose Mourinho’s men, beating Chelsea on penalties to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals, thumping Maccabi Haifa 7-2 to qualify for the Europa League group stages and then beating United.
While on international duty, Harry Kane appeared to sustain an injury with England in training, leading to a scan, but he played against Denmark on Wednesday, as the Three Lions lost 1-0. Eric Dier also withdrew from the squad.
Mourinho will surely be hoping that the break hasn’t had too much of an effect on the club’s momentum, as they prepare to face West Ham United this weekend.
However, first, they may look to seal a deal for Joe Rodon, the Swansea City defender, before the domestic transfer deadline on Friday.
Football Insider has previously reported that the club are in talks with the Championship outfit over a potential swap deal for the Wales international.
But former Spurs striker Darren Bent believes that there is a major stumbling block in the way.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “I guess it’s one of those things where they need to find a player at Spurs who’s happy to drop down to the Championship.
“I think that’s going to be the hard thing, it’s all well and good offering these pieces to Swansea as kind of a sweetener in the deal but you’ve got to find players who are willing to drop into the Championship and give up their Premier League credentials.
“That’s going to be the stumbling block but if they can get it over the line and find pieces that are willing to do that, that would be really, really good.”
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Bent has nailed it.
It is difficult to do swap deals at the best of times, but they become all the harder when it involves a player in a lower league.
Rodon, of course, will surely be hoping a deal is agreed given the size of the step up between Swansea and Spurs.
But there is every chance the deal could fall down on Tottenham’s end if no player is willing to drop into the Championship on a permanent basis.
Rodon is a fine player, who has won six caps for his country, and he has made 54 appearances for the Championship club.
If Spurs can get it over the line, this would be a great deal, but it doesn’t seem to be as cut and dry as previously thought.