Spurs in contact to sign £42m sensation

Tottenham Hotspur managed to select up a much-needed and hard-fought win within the Europa League on Thursday evening, however any hope of an uptick in type was shortly squashed on Sunday afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou’s aspect performed out a dismal 2-1 defeat to the relegation-threatened Leicester Metropolis within the Premier League, and it is beginning to seem like the membership might genuinely be pulled right into a relegation battle.

Within the supervisor’s defence, he has been compelled to play a makeshift backline consisting of a younger midfielder in Archie Grey, an ageing full-back in Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin, who’s now clearly under the usual required to even be a backup for the Lilywhites.

Happily, latest studies have touted a much more completed centre-back for a transfer to the membership, a centre-back who might ship the Romanian worldwide packing.

Tottenham goal defensive titan

In line with a recent report from Caught Offside, Tottenham are one among a number of groups to have registered their curiosity in Feyenoord star David Hancko.

Alongside the Lilywhites, the report has revealed that fellow Premier League aspect Chelsea have additionally requested the Dutch aspect for data on the Slovakian, whereas Juventus and Atlético Madrid are additionally mooted as potential suitors.

Nonetheless, the report explains that the Eredivisie outfit are adamant that their defender shouldn’t be on the market this month however is anticipated to have an asking value of round €50m for him in the summertime, which is about £42m.

It may very well be an advanced and dear switch to recover from the road, however given how nicely Hancko has performed in latest seasons and the dismal type of Dragusin, it is one nicely price pursuing.

How Hancko compares to Dragusin

So, the very first thing to say is that, when match, the beginning centre-back pairing for Tottenham subsequent season will virtually definitely nonetheless be Cristan Romero and Micky van de Ven, because the nous and management of the previous and the breathtaking velocity and athleticism of the latter make them a really formidable partnership.

Nonetheless, with each of them being considerably injury-prone and enjoying an extremely intense type of soccer below Postecoglou, the necessity for a dependable and skilful backup who doesn’t drop the extent an excessive amount of is a necessity, and we now have seen during the last yr or in order that Dragusin is most definitely not that.

Due to this fact, ought to Daniel Levy and Co sanction the signing of Hancko in the summertime, he’d initially are available in to problem and hopefully usurp the Romanian as that first-choice backup, however how do the 2 centre-backs stack up after we have a look below the hood and evaluate their underlying numbers?

Unsurprisingly, it is the Feyenoord star who comes out victorious and, sadly for the Spurs man, it is not even shut.

For instance, the Slovakian titan comes out forward in virtually each metric, together with, however not restricted to, precise and anticipated non-penalty targets plus assists, progressive passes and carries, passing accuracy, key passes, passes into the penalty space and ultimate third, shot and goal-creating actions, tackles gained, interceptions, clearances and extra, all per 90.

Hancko vs Dragusin
Statistics per 90	Hancko	Dragusin
Non-Penalty Anticipated G+As	0.20	0.03
Precise Non-Penalty G+As	0.19	0.03
Progressive Passes	5.71	2.53
Progressive Carries	1.71	0.37
Passing Accuracy	86.9%	85.8%
Key Passes	0.57	0.21
Passes into the Penalty Space	0.43	0.16
Passes into the Closing Third	4.14	3.26
Stay Passes	51.9	57.3
Shot-Creating Actions	1.43	0.53
Aim-Creating Actions	0.14	0.05
Tackles Gained	0.94	0.41
Interceptions	1.06	1.01
Clearances	5.14	4.16
Blocks	1.43	1.79
Errors Resulting in a shot	0.00	0.32
Profitable Take-Ons	0.57	0.05
Ball Recoveries	2.71	3.47
Aerial Duels Gained	0.71	2.21
All Stats via FBref for 24/25

Furthermore, whereas the 27-year-old has the peak to be a central defender, coming in at 6 foot 2, he is no slouch with the ball at his toes, with respected analyst Ben Mattinson describing him as a “freak technician” who’s no stranger to “carrying the ball from deep,” “interchanging with midfielders,” and “driving into the field,” which makes him sound like the proper participant for Postecoglou.

Lastly, he has worn the captain’s armband a number of times for Feyenoord this season, and with 48 senior caps to his name as nicely, he is no stranger to the largest phases.

Finally, whereas Dragusin has put in some cheap performances for Spurs during the last yr, they’ve been far and few between, and if the membership need to progress, they’re going to want stronger choices on the again.

Due to this fact, whereas it will signify a major funding, Levy and Co ought to do what they’ll to signal Hancko this yr.