Should Tottenham Sell Andros Townsend This Summer?

The common feeling around Tottenham Hotspur right now is that Mauricio Pochettino is building a young, hungry talented squad with plenty of potential to improve. Combine that with players who are approaching their prime such as Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen and the balance in the squad looks positive.

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However, caught in the middle of all of this is Andros Townsend. At 23, he can no longer be considered a young up and coming talent along the same lines as 20 year old Nabil Bentaleb or 21 year old Harry Kane. Here and now is the time for Townsend to prove himself a player that has a future at Tottenham.

Cast your mind back to 2013. Townsend had started the season in terrific form and had fired himself into the England team, scoring a terrific goal on his debut. It looked like Spurs and England had unearthed a true gem who would go from strength to strength. Townsend was electric in his play, however an injury hampered his progress and from that moment to this day he has never looked the same. His confidence clearly plummeted after his injury and he has not been able to hit a consistent level since. The question now is does he still have a future in the Tottenham first team? Last season we saw mere flashes of his talent (his superb goal against Swansea for example) and for the most part he was kept out of the team by Erik Lamela.

It was reported last summer that Tottenham had received bids of up to 12 million for Townsend’s services. Spurs are not exactly blessed in Townsend’s position, with his challenger Lamela not enjoying the best of seasons either. Both players are viewed as frustrating by most spurs fans, due to their decision making and lack of a final product. Townsend in particular though is certainly at a crossroads in his career, as there’s no guarantee of him getting a starting spot next and season and also every chance that Spurs could sell him for a sufficient fee.

Would selling Townsend be a good idea? Some may feel that all he really needs is a consistent run in the team to try and prove himself again, and there’s also his international performances to take into consideration. Roy Hodgson consistently shows faith in Andros and most of the time it pays off, his superb goal against Italy proving that. His confidence seems to sky rocket when he pulls on the England shirt and if Pochettino could channel that form into his performances for Spurs then we may be looking at the Andros of 2013 again. However, this is all easier said than done and there have been little signs of it happening so far. Townsend’s career at Tottenham may very well depend on his performances in 2015/16, as that may just be his last chance to prove that he can reach the levels he achieves for England and has achieved for Tottenham in the past.

Is Andros good enough? Does he deserve a starting spot? Tweet us @Fresh_Spurs_ and let us know your thoughts