This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

Tottenham Hotspur are prepared to listen to offers for four defenders in January, per Football Insider.

What’s the word?

Spurs have endured a miserable start to the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, winning just three games, and were beaten 2-1 by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

That result leaves the club eight points behind third-placed Leicester City and fourth-placed Chelsea.

And Spurs are ready to undergo a massive overhaul in the January transfer window, with Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Serge Aurier and Danny Rose all for sale.

Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino is said to rate Davinson Sanchez as the jewel of his back four.

Mismanagement

Spurs should have done this in the summer.

Now, it must be noted that they did try. Danny Rose was at Watford’s training ground on deadline day, while sources have told Football FanCast that Alderweireld would have been sold had an acceptable bid been tabled.

But as it is, they are facing up to the prospect of trying to sell two central defenders who have contracts that expire at the end of the season, along with two full-backs labelled “dumb and dumber” by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.

It smacks of mismanagement and a failure to plan ahead effectively.

Had they moved on in the summer, reinforcements could have been purchased with the funds, but instead, Spurs find themselves in a position where they are effectively hawking their goods to anyone who will listen.

That is no way to run a football club and it does not instil confidence that they will be able to buy replacements either.