After a few weeks of relative silence, Tottenham Hotspur made their first big splash in the transfer window this week.
Ange Postecoglou looks set to welcome Leeds United’s highly-rated wonderkid Archie Gray in a £30m deal to become the club’s first permanent signing of the window.
However, there’s no rest for the wicked, and based on recent reports, the latest player touted for a move to the club plays in a position Gray starred in last season and could be the perfect rival for Pedro Porro.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from Italy, Tottenham are one of several clubs keen on Fiorentina’s exciting young right-back, Michael Kayode, and have already seen an offer rejected.
The report claims that Aston Villa have also made an unsuccessful bid for the 19-year-old talent.
The good news for the Lilywhites is that the Serie A side would supposedly listen to offers in the region of €25m, which converts to around £21m.
It wouldn’t be a cheap transfer to get over the line, but given his age and the way he’s spoken about, it’s a transfer worth pursuing, especially as he could rival Porro for a place in the team.
Why Kayode would be a good rival to Porro
Now, at just 19 years old and with one full season of topflight football under his belt, it would be incredibly unfair to expect Kayode to come into the Spurs team and immediately dislodge Porro after an impressive season in which he returned 11 goals and assists in 37 games.
However, he could provide a challenge and, in turn, become Postecoglou’s goto backup for the right-back position ahead of Emerson Royal – should he not leave, that is.
Moreover, respected data analyst Ben Mattinson described the youngster as a full-back who was “complete defensively” last year, suggesting that he could be the perfect complement to Porro’s slightly more attacking and expressive nature when the club needs to defend a lead.
Mattinson goes on to expand on what makes the Italian such a “1v1 & duel monster,” explaining that he “jockeys attackers to delay the threat & force a decision,” which is an impressive skill to master for a player of his age.
With that said, how do his underlying numbers currently stack up to the Lilywhites’ two right-back options?
|
Kayode vs Porro vs Royal |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Stats per 90 |
Kayode |
Porro |
Royal |
|
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists |
0.09 |
0.30 |
0.05 |
|
Assists |
0.06 |
0.19 |
0.00 |
|
Progressive Passes |
3.38 |
5.66 |
4.42 |
|
Progressive Carries |
1.85 |
1.66 |
1.63 |
|
Progressive Passes Received |
4.22 |
4.61 |
2.71 |
|
Passing Accuracy |
81.4% |
76.2% |
90.3% |
|
Crosses into the Penalty Area |
0.73 |
0.29 |
0.10 |
|
Passes into the Penalty Area |
1.09 |
1.40 |
0.54 |
|
Shot-Creating Actions |
1.71 |
3.12 |
1.63 |
|
Tackles |
2.15 |
2.65 |
2.79 |
|
Interceptions |
0.84 |
1.02 |
1.32 |
|
Errors Leading to a Shot |
0.07 |
0.09 |
0.08 |
|
Successful Take-Ons |
0.84 |
0.76 |
0.78 |
|
Dispossessed |
0.33 |
0.44 |
0.93 |
Well, the clear winner is unsurprisingly the former Sporting CP ace, but in a positive sign, the Fiorentina star comes out ahead in several metrics, including progressive carries, crosses into the penalty area, and successful take-ons. He’s also dispossessed the least and makes the fewest errors that lead to a shot, all per 90.
Moreover, when looking at his numbers in comparison to Royal’s, he does come out on top in the majority of statistics, suggesting that he would, at the bare minimum, be an upgrade on the Brazilian.
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The impressive attacker has been integral to his club and country’s successes.
Ultimately, signing youngsters from other leagues is always going to be a gamble, but with how he is spoken about and the impressive underlying numbers, Kayode looks like he’d be a great signing to come in and really push Porro over the coming years.