It’s been over a month since the transfer window swung open in mid-June, and since then, Tottenham Hotspur have been relatively quiet, bar their £30m signing of Archie Gray from Leeds United.
However, while the Lilywhites have refrained from bringing anyone else into the club as of yet, they have been linked with a host of players, including England’s Eberechi Eze and Canada’s Jonathan David.
That said, they could soon welcome in their second signing of the summer, as recent reports have linked them to an incredibly talented winger who has won comparisons to Son Heung-min. However, this potential transfer could spell trouble for Dejan Kulusevski.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from Italy, Tottenham are one of several sides interested in signing Juventus’ Italian winger Federico Chiesa this summer.
The report claims that the Lilywhites have already contacted the Turin-based outfit about the Italian’s future but may have to compete with Manchester United and Roma for his signature.
While the interest from the Red Devils and the Giallorossi is far from ideal, the good news is that the report has claimed the former Fiorentina star is valued at just under €30m, which converts to around £25m.
It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Chiesa’s reasonable price, comparisons to Son and his potential to replace Kulusevski, one Daniel Levy and Co should be pursuing.
How Chiesa compares to Son and Kulusevski
So, before we see how Chiesa’s recent record stacks up to Kulusevski’s, let’s first look at this comparison to club captain Son.
It originates from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues before then creating a top ten list of the most comparable players for each one, and in the case of the Italian, they have ranked the Lilywhites ace as the seventh most similar forward.
This comparison is best seen through a number of their most similar underlying numbers, such as, shots on target, key passes, passes into the penalty area, interceptions, successful take-ons, carries and ball recoveries, all per 90.
|
Chiesa & Son |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats per 90 |
Chiesa |
Son |
|
Shots on Target |
1.02 |
1.17 |
|
Key Passes |
2.21 |
2.09 |
|
Passes into the Penalty Area |
1.84 |
1.99 |
|
Interceptions |
0.25 |
0.25 |
|
Successful Take-Ons |
1.43 |
1.20 |
|
Carries |
26.4 |
28.4 |
|
Ball Recoveries |
2.54 |
2.45 |
|
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 League Season |
||
A ball recovery is defined by the number of loose balls recovered by a player.
So, now that his similarities to the South Korean superstar have been cleared up, how does the Juve ace stack up against the player he could replace in North London?
Well, when it comes to the most critical aspect of a modern-day winger, their output, it’s the Genova-born star who comes out on top.
In 37 appearances for the Old Lady last season, the “unstoppable” wideman, as former teammate Giorgio Chiellini dubbed him, scored ten goals and provided three assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 2.86 games.
In contrast, the Lilywhites Swedish star scored eight goals and provided three assists in 39 appearances last season, equating to a slightly less impressive average of a goal involvement every 3.54 games.
Moreover, it was the same story the season prior, as while both wingers produced ten goal involvements, the Swede did so in 37 games, while his potential replacement did it in just 33 appearances.
Ultimately, Kulusevski is a talented player and an excellent winger to have in the squad, but based on the last two seasons, it appears that Chiesa would be an upgrade, at least from an attacking perspective anyway. The fact that he’s available for a reasonable price and has won comparisons to Son is just the icing on the cake.
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