Tottenham lodge bid to sign “ball-carrying machine”

Tottenham Hotspur might now be languishing within the backside half of the Premier League desk, but there isn’t any sense that this struggling facet have given up on their supervisor simply but, having put in a battling efficiency at residence to Newcastle United final outing.

With Ange Postecoglou pressured to place out a very depleted backline amid a raft of accidents – with Djed Spence and Archie Grey lining up at centre-back for the second half – the Lilywhites arguably deserved extra on Saturday afternoon, having come near grabbing an equaliser within the second-half as Brennan Johnson’s pushed effort flashed agonisingly throughout the field.

Alas, it isn’t fairly occurring for the north London facet on the minute, with rumours rife regarding potential replacements for the Aussie within the dugout, but now may very well be the time to again Postecoglou, relatively than present him the axe.

Certainly, the previous Celtic boss has not been aided by the shortage of squad depth at his disposal at current, with reinforcements definitely wanted this month if this calendar yr is to show much more fruitful than the final.

Newest on Spurs’ midfield search

As reported by Italian outlet AreaNapoli, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is alleged to have lodged an official offer for Palmeiras midfielder, Richard Rios, with the Colombian worldwide rising as a ‘concrete goal’ for these at N17.

No point out was product of the character of the bid, with the Brazilian outfit having reportedly rejected the proposal with a purpose to maintain the 24-year-old on board forward of their involvement on this summer time’s FIFA Membership World Cup.

Whether or not Spurs can produce a contemporary method to safe a extra rapid arrival stays to be seen, with the in-demand expertise – who reportedly has a €100m (£83m) release clause in his current deal – seemingly a determine who may re-energise the membership’s midfield ranks.

Spurs’ excellent Bissouma improve

One space that has been an issue for Postecoglou of late is that quantity six berth on the base of the midfield, with the beforehand injury-hit Rodrigo Bentancur having endured a spell on the sidelines as a result of suspension, whereas Yves Bissouma has endured his personal disciplinary woes to this point.

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Certainly, neither man has been in a position to really nail down that beginning position in 2024/25, with Bissouma having made ten Premier League starts so far, whereas Bentancur has started nine times in the top-flight.

An improve is required, therefore the place Rios – who has chalked up 13 goals and assists in 102 video games for his present facet – can come into the equation.

In accordance with information analyst Ben Mattinson, Rios is a “ball-carrying machine” who represents “Colombia’s very own Yves Bissouma“, guaranteeing he may slot in completely as an improve on the Mali worldwide.

As indicated within the desk under, Rios comes out on high in a string of each attacking and defensive metrics amid his most up-to-date league run (2024), with the one-time Flamengo man notably a extra artistic outlet, as proven by his superior document with regard to shot-creating actions.

That capability to create from deep – whereas additionally contributing in a defensive sense – may make the 6 foot 2 powerhouse excellent for the Postecoglou system, serving to to clean up part of the pitch that has been one thing of a difficulty of late.

With the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski forward of him, Rios may current a dream foil for these artistic figures, with Mattinson particularly impressed by his capability to “eat up plenty of floor in a brief house of time”, guaranteeing he can take Spurs from defence to assault immediately.

That front-foot method could be simply what Postecoglou is craving, with the hope being that Levy can get a deal over the road over the approaching weeks, relatively than ready till the summer time.

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