Spurs preparing bid for £50m star who's like Guimaraes & Fabian Ruiz

It’s set to be a massive season ahead for Tottenham Hotspur as Ange Postecoglou is no longer a Premier League rookie, and the club have already spent a campaign surviving without the mountain of goals Harry Kane used to regularly provide.

However, for the talented Australian to succeed in North London and guide the club back into the Champions League, he needs Daniel Levy and Co to do their job this summer and sign the right players.

Fortunately, that is what they appear to be doing, as the latest player touted for a move to N17 has won comparisons to Newcastle United’s talented Bruno Guimarães and recent European champion Fabian Ruiz.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from The Athletic, Tottenham have maintained their interest in Chelsea star Conor Gallagher this summer.

The report claimed that, alongside the Lilywhites, Aston Villa are also keen on the Englishman, although only the North Londoners are expected to make a move for the player.

The fact that the Villans are seemingly unlikely to act on their interest in the midfielder is undoubtedly good news for Spurs, but with the report claiming the Blues value him at £50m, they’ll still need to stump up the cash.

It appears that signing Gallagher could become quite expensive for Levy and Co, but given his performances last year and the comparisons to Ruiz and Guimarães, he’d be worth it.

Gallagher’s comparisons to Guimarães and Ruiz

So, Premier League fans were able to see just how effective Gallagher could be when given a prominent role at Chelsea last season, as he made 50 appearances for Mauricio Pochettino, in which he scored seven goals and provided nine assists.

However, where do these comparisons with Guimarães and Ruiz come from? Well, both stem from FBref, with the former being ranked as the most similar midfielder to the Englishman in Europe’s top five leagues and the former the fifth most similar.

It’s easier to see what makes these players so similar when looking at their underlying numbers and how closely they rank in specific ones.

Gallagher & Ruiz & Guimarães
Stats per 90	Gallagher	Ruiz	Guimarães
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists	0.27	0.24	0.27
Progressive Carries	1.78	1.20	2.11
Goals + Assists	0.34	0.30	0.26
Shots on Target	0.49	0.45	0.37
Passing Accuracy	89.2%	89.2%	85.5%
Crosses into the Penalty Area	0.11	0.15	0.12
Goal-Creating Actions	0.40	0.45	0.43
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 League Season

For example, the Blues ace shares similar stats with the two stars in metrics such as non-penalty expected goals and assists, progressive carries, actual goals and assists, shots on target, passing accuracy, crosses into the penalty area and goal-creating actions, all per 90.

Alongside these traits, the “relentless” 24-year-old, as The Athletic’s Mike Stavrou dubbed him, can also play in either central, attacking, or defensive midfield roles, much like the two talents he has been compared to.

Ultimately, with Postecoglou wanting to push on next season, bringing in Gallagher as midfield reinforcement this summer would be an excellent idea based on his performances last season alone.

The fact that he’s been compared to Guimarães and Ruiz is just the icing on the cake.