Ins and outs
Andy: “Now, if you consider that they lost two big players in Alex Baena – to Atletico – and Thierno Barry, who is still finding his way at Everton, they’ve only latterly started to spend the money. They’ve added Georges Mikautadze from Lyon in the last two weeks, he made his debut in the Atletico game. He’s quick, smart, makes great runs but, of course, he’s still getting used to his new team. If you look at other signings, Tajon Buchanan (signed from Inter) has been really good so far as well, Alberto Moleiro, who came in nominally to replace Baena, from Las Palmas, 21, has a massive future, I believe.”
Familiar foe
Andy: “Funnily enough, someone who didn’t do as well in north London when he was here, Nicolas Pepe, has had a really good start to the season, probably in his best form since he was at Lille. He was so impressive there and that’s easy to forget because he struggled at times at Arsenal.”
‘They’re good – and getting better’
Andy: “Villarreal have a really good mix of experience and younger players, a great coach as well in Marcelino. They will provide a difficult enough task for the first game, but if you look at Spurs’ home games, they’ve done okay out of the draw compared to, say, Newcastle, but this is a test. It’s also worth mentioning that Villarreal did so well to win the battle against Betis to get into the top five of La Liga at the end of last season, a relentless end where they won their last six matches to finish fifth. They’re good, and they’re getting better, especially with the new signings coming in.”