Caulker tips Tottenham title challenge

Cardiff City’s Steven Caulker believes that Tottenham have all the tools to mount a challenge for the Premier League title this season.

The 21-year-old defender swapped north London for South Wales in a deal reported to be worth around £8million in the close-season and was part of the Cardiff team that lost 1-0 at home to Andre Villas-Boas’ side on Sunday.

That result represented Malky Mackay’s men’s first home defeat since returning to the Premier League and lifted Tottenham to joint top of the table with local rivals Arsenal after five games.

Tottenham dominated the match at the Cardiff City Stadium from start to finish and have started the campaign in superb form, despite the departure of star man Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.

Villas-Boas offset the inevitable world-record sale of the Welshman by breaking the club’s transfer record three times during the transfer window with the signings of Paulinho, Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela.

And Caulker is in no doubt that his former side will be there or thereabouts when it comes to deciding the destination of the top-flight crown in May.

“With the players they have brought in and the squad they have got, they should be achieving things,” he told the Daily Mirror.

“They have spent a lot of money and when teams spend that amount of money you expect big things from them.

“With the money they have spent they will all cause teams problems.”