Former Spurs captain backing new signings to shine.
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Former Tottenham defender Ledley King is confident that the club’s new signings can help make up for the departure of star player Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, he told BBC Sport.
The Welshman had been strongly linked with an exit from Spurs for the whole summer, after his dazzling displays last season caught attention from some of the biggest clubs around Europe, and he eventually became the world’s most expensive player of all time as Real Madrid signed him for £85m.
The money brought in from his sale has allowed Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas to make major investments in revamping his whole squad, spending over £100m on the likes of Vlad Chiriches, Etienne Capoue, Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado.
King, who retired at the end of the 2011/12 season due to persistent injury problems, believes it may be better for his old side not to be so dependent on one player now that Bale has left the club.
However, he also feels that bringing in so many new players at once can mean the team takes some time to settle, especially as all of Villas-Boas’ signings have come from abroad and are new to the Premier League.
“The problem if you rely on one player is injuries to that one player,” he said. “My theory is you’re better off with a stronger squad, a strong bench – that’s what’s needed to finish in the top four.
“When you bring in the number of players we’ve brought in it’s going to take a bit of time. You’d hope everyone would hit the ground running, but it’s not realistic.
“There’s no easy games (in the Premier League) and the players will learn that as they go along.”
Spurs have made a reasonable start to the season, winning their first two games before a disappointing defeat in the north London derby to rivals Arsenal.