Spurs' biggest mistake last summer was not signing Fabio Coentrao - or indeed any other quality left back. It has been a very weak position this season - Danny Rose hasn't really performed and Benoit Assou-Ekotto was shipped-out on loan to Queens Park Rangers, forcing the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Naughton - a centre back and right back respectively - to cover in times of need. The Lilywhites were in an ideal position to get a good player as part of the Gareth Bale deal when Real Madrid came knocking, so to have come away with only money from it is actually quite disappointing (obviously it was a huge, record-breaking amount of money, but that's not the point). Coentrao could have been the missing piece in the Spurs jigsaw. He would, quite simply, have completed the team, ensuring every position on the pitch was filled with a player capable of challenging at the top and Spurs would undoubtedly have been a much stronger unit for the entirety of this season had he been on board. It may have been the case that Coentrao flat-out refused to speak to Spurs but, now that were in to 2014 and he still isnt guaranteed a first team place at the Bernabeu, he might want to reconsider. Of course, with Spurs not yet guaranteed European football of any kind next season, that could prove a problem in their potential pursuit of the Portuguese left back this summer but, if they make the Europa League, that could be enough to convince him. Hed be guaranteed a first team place at White Hart Lane and, if Tottenham opt to renew their interest in the player, he should at least think the idea of a move to England over. So there you have it - the seven players Spurs should have signed with the Gareth Bale money. Do you agree? Which other players should Spurs have made their own last year? Let us know in the comments box below.
