Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt another cruel injury blow after it was confirmed key defender Cristian Romero will be out for up to five weeks with a hamstring problem.
Argentine Romero only returned from a three-match ban at the beginning of December but is now facing another significant spell on the sidelines.
The 25-year-old picked up the injury during last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Everton and a scan has confirmed damage to his hamstring.
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou has guided his team into Champions League contention despite having to cope without several key players, including Romero and the England midfielder James Maddison.
“Not so great with Romero," said Postecoglou ahead of tonight's trip to Brighton. “He had a scan the other day and has got a hamstring strain. We are looking at probably four or five weeks for him.
“Disappointing to lose him, for sure. We obviously missed him with the suspension and now we’ve just got him back and he steadied things up.
“Now he will be missing again for quite a chunk of time.”
Romero’s previous absence was compounded by defensive partner Micky van de Ven also being out with a hamstring injury.
Dutchman Van de Ven suffered the injury in the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea last month but is nearing a return. He said in an interview last week he could be back in as little as two weeks. His manager, however, was a little more circumspect.
“He is getting closer,” Postecoglou confirmed. “We will see him some time in January. I don’t think Burnley but Man United on the 14th potentially
“I don’t look at comeback dates until I see them training with us and he hasn’t been part of the group.
“He is not due to be part of the group this week so we’ll see how he is going at the end of this week. Once they start training with the group, that’s when we start thinking about if they are available.
“He is at the tail end of it, for sure and at some point, middle of January he could be available but how we use him after such a long absence will be depending on where he is at.”
Brighton, meanwhile, are likely to be without winger Kaoru Mitoma against Spurs because of an ankle problem. Striker Danny Welbeck could be ready to start, however, having come off the bench in Albion's past two games as he steps up his recovery from a muscle strain.
Elsewhere, Arsenal will look to reclaim top spot in the table when they face London rivals West Ham at the Emirates Stadium tonight.
The Gunners will be missing midfielder Kai Havertz who is suspended after racking up five yellow cards for the season. Takehiro Tomiyasu, Fabio Vieira, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber all remain sidelined.
Arsenal have won 12 of their last 13 home games against the Hammers and are now unbeaten in 17 Premier League games against fellow London clubs, dating back to a 3-0 defeat at Spurs in May 2020.
West Ham have won their last two and a third on the spin would take them back into the top six. Manager David Moyes will ponder a recall for Nayef Aguerd, who missed their 2-0 victory against Manchester United through illness.
Tottenham v Everton - player ratings
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Watford 2 (Sarr 50', Deeney 54' pen)
Manchester United 0
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