jean makoun

[dansm31]

ive heard that we mite be going for jean makoun any thoughts on him coming to the lane

[Sir Henry Percy]

Tottenham Hotspur identify Olympique Lyonnais' Jean Makoun as alternative to West Ham United battler Scott Parker - report - Goal.com

[basskadet]

Jean Makoun would be an excellent signing - much better than Parker if you ask me as he would be a little cheaper & a little younger but with that extra experience of having actually won stuff with Lyon & played in the Champions League. At 27 he is, just about, a 'mature' player but he is not so old that he would have no re-sale value. At less than £6m he HAS to be a bargain. He is a good player, a very good player on his day, but he is always fully committed & a real team player. In that sense he is fairly similar to Parker but I believe he is a better footballer. If we could turn him into our version of Essien, then that £6m will look an absolute steal.

[davids01]

at 6M good dal but i like Thudd , kranjcar Modric, palacious ahead of him in the centre mid and then there is Sandro coming in, so not much point..

[grottim]

i agree i think we're most in need of a centre back

[LosAngelesHotspur]

At 6 mil, I think this would be a fine signing, although this pursuit of a central midfielder leads me to believe O'Hara will be sold, which is a shame IMO. Rather than bring in Makoun, Parker or anyone else in the center, I'd make O'Hara our third choice behind THudd and Palacios, which I think would allow him enough matches to be happy with all of the matches we have this year.

[jayj28]

jean makoun is a gem of a player ..with champions league experience & won a few cups along the way.Also what i`ve seen of him he puts a real shift in for the team ..got bags of energy . Be a excellent addition to the squad & could see him become a regular 1st team player.

[Twizzle]

at 6M good dal but i like Thudd , kranjcar Modric, palacious ahead of him in the centre mid and then there is Sandro coming in, so not much point..

same could be said for Parker

I just dont get it

[CmonyouSpurs]

I've mentioned this guy in the past because i see him as an Essien-type midfielder, who can be very combative in midfield as well as a driving force in getting the team forward. However, I doubt we really need him now.

[oxuk]

Yes, I believe we all agree when it comes to this sort of players. It would be a good signing, however there are other areas that really do need attention.
Lets focus on getting a defender that can cover all back four positions and then a striker. If we sell JJ however buy this guy.

[Spurs4life93]

This is a far better option than Parker.

Yes Please.

[basskadet]

I don't really understand when people say we have "other areas to focus on", as if us pursuing a CM means we have put all our aims of signing a striker or defender to one side. Of course we will still be focussing on those areas but there are many more factors involved in a transfer than just what we want. If we are after a CM & one becomes available to us before any strikers/defenders, do you seriously think we should not go for it & wait until we fill those other positions first? Of course not.

I understand people saying we have such & such a player already in the position but I totally see why Harry wants a new CM.

It is all bout improving the team. It doesn't matter if we already have 'enough' players in a position if the player we are bringing in improves on them. I hear what people are saying about CM perhaps being our most 'comfortable' position, but what if I said that our most experienced player there is Jermaine Jenas*? Surely, if we got a player in who was an improvement on JJ we would welcome that?

I think we are crying out for a little experience in the team. It has been said before, & Harry I know concurs, that you can win nothing with kids. CM is such a pivotal position & although we have some good players there, we still have nobody who can really control the pace of a game, who talks to the players around him - a 'midfield general', if you like. Tommy Hudd is improving greatly as a player but he is still a little soft at times for me & he doesn't respond well to adversity. Wilson has the commitment to become that player for us but he lacks the communication & experience and his technique is far too inconsistent. He gives the ball away far too often to 'control' games and we need an experienced head who can raise the spirits of those players around him when we are playing poorly or a goal down and can keep us calm & retain possession when we're holding onto leads in the final minutes.

We just do not have anyone like that still at the club. Battling for mid-table that is fine but fighting the top end we lack 2 things that all the most successful teams have - a midfield 'General' & a goal-scoring midfielder. A good striker on top of that & we will be looking really good. I don't think we 'need' a defender as much as people think I do agree that we are weaker in, say, the LB position but I would argue that improving our LB is less vital toward our transition into a top-4 club than a real dominant force in the middle & a proper goal-scorer.


* that really scares the fook out of me. Jenas is 28 now & he still plays like a 22 year old! In fact, I think he was better when he was 22. He has seriously regressed! He was OK tonight against Benfica but he just has no 'bottle' & in those big nights in Europe he will just shrink. We need players weho will grow & Makoun is ideal. To prove the point, he was the 1 who scored from 25yards for Lyon against Real in last season's CL, to knock the Spanish out the competition.

[LosAngelesHotspur]

This may be better directed in an O'Hara discussion, but I think it's directly related to any CM signings, Makoun included, so here it goes. Does anyone think that if we don't sign a CM it means O'Hara stays in the club? If we don't sign one, I can't see Arry parting with O'Hara and that's a positive to me. While I see quality in Makoun, I'd rather hold on to O'Hara instead. Anyone else rather have O'Hara than Makoun? That said, if O'Hara does leave, I'd be pleased with a Makoun signing for the same reasons that basskadet sees him as a good signing.

[spursman18]

I think O'Hara is a hard working lad who has some good technical skill, perhaps he performed well because Pompey were so shit last season? Coming into a club who were at the bottom of the league and getting first team football might have turned him into the top player for them because all the others around him were so average?

There is better quality out there instead of Jamie and if we can get at least 5 million for him to put into someone else than I'd be thrilled with that (on top of whatever we get if we sell Jenas) a quality CM over those 2- YES PLEASE, any day of the week.

[BigDub]

Ther key thing about this signing would be that Makoun has CL experience with Lyon. It is vital that we bring some players in who have such experience. With a team of players who really havent been exposed to a whole lot of meaningful European experience it is important that we bring some in. Makoun would be a fine option. He is younger and cheaper than parker.