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It happens every year. A high profile manager takes over at a new club and is inevitably linked to players from his old squad. AVB should be doubly interesting though, as he's managed 2 high profile clubs in the past 2 seasons and will almost certainly be looking to add to a Spurs squad that came oh so close to the Champions League this season. We saw quite a bit of it last season when he arrived at Chelsea, and you can rest assured that the English media are already drooling over the possibilities. Here's a few guys who've been connected to Chelsea that I'd expect to start hearing linked with Spurs in the coming days:
- Hulk - He exploded under AVB, and he's still at Porto. I can't see Spurs being able to afford him, but since when has common sense stopped a rumor from starting?
- Joao Moutinho - He's a poor man's Luka Modric, and AVB just took over at a club that's likely to lose Luka to a more wealthy rival. As a Porto guy, he'd make a lot of sense.
- Alvaro Pereira - He was almost a blue last year, and he probably makes just as much sense for Spurs as he ever did for Chelsea.
- Daniel Sturridge - Danny was at his best under AVB and seemed to get along well with him. He's only got a year to go on his deal, and Spurs need a striker.
- Raul Meireles - Like Danny, Raul featured more for AVB than he did for Roberto Di Matteo. The facts that he's Portuguese and used to play for Porto probably don't hurt this potential link either.
- Oriol Romeu - Like the 2 previous players, he was a favorite of AVB. He was bought on the recomendation of AVB as well. I'm sure the media won't even consider any possible issues with whatever the Barcelona clause is.
Some of these make sense, and some obviously don't. They are all easy stories though, and I'd be shocked if we don't see at least 4 of these guys linked in the in the English newspapers by the weekend. Silly season just got sillier...