Why £20m Tottenham transfer raid for Everton star makes perfect sense - for both clubs

Always keep them guessing. Never let them know your next move. If, for instance, you are a Premier League manager who has seen their squad of title hopefuls decimated and stretched to a point of pallid translucency, don't go out and buy a world class talent in the January window, but instead bolster your ranks with a player who can't even get a game for a club who are currently languishing in the relegation zone. They'll never see it coming.

Ange Postecoglou, as you might be aware, is in need of reinforcements. Tottenham Hotspur, a side who started the season suspiciously well, have been hit with the kind of rotten injury-related luck usually reserved for cartoon cats embroiled in ceaseless blood feuds with psychopathic doe-eyed mice. At one point, their only available centre-back was Eric Dier. You get the distinct impression that Ange may have considered that to be a fate worse than death. Since then, Dier too has picked up an groin problem.

As such, the need for extra bodies was laid bare, and to that end the idea of a January spending spree is not wholly shocking. What is somewhat unexpected, however, is the fact that Spurs are seemingly keen on signing Ben Godfrey from Everton.

Now, in fairness, the defender has been on radars in North London for quite some time. But by just about any metric, this has been an annus horribilis for the 25-year-old. So far this season, Godfrey has been restricted to just one minute of Premier League football which, to put it into context, is only 60 seconds more than you or I have played. Evidently, he is not particularly fancied by Sean Dyche, and given the fact that Everton, were it not for their recent 10-point deduction, would be going pretty well this term, it is difficult to see how or when he could jimmy his way back into the manager's plans at Goodison Park.

A change, therefore, could be needed, and it is unlikely that a player in Godfrey's position could ever hope for a better move than Tottenham right now. While their recent blip has toppled them from the summit of the Premier League table, they will still very much be in the picture for European qualification this season, and given the relative flimsiness of their squad, there is no reason to believe that the two-cap England international wouldn't be given a chance to shine.

It's an arrangement that could really suit Everton, with all of their ongoing financial woes, as well. The Toffees current predicament has been well-documented, and to that end, if they could bring in a considerable chunk of cash for a player who barely features on Merseyside, then it feels like an absolute no-brainer. Reports suggest that they could fetch as much as £20 million for the defender, and at that price, it would be a deal worthy of serious consideration.

On the basis of all of the above, therefore, this feels like a transfer that could suit all parties; Tottenham get their extra fortification, Godfrey gets the minutes he is so sorely lacking and the fresh start he desperately needs, and Everton get a timely boost to their depleted coffers. What's not to like?