Tottenham Transfer Rumors: McCarthy and Werner
Two transfer rumors have Tottenham looking at James McCarthy and Timo Werner.
One is an established player (McCarthy) who plays as a central midfielder, whereas the other is a young player (Werner) and plays as a center forward.
For Mauricio Pochettino, looking to add Werner isn’t a surprise. He plays a position of need, striker, and is one of many players who will be considered to be Harry Kane’s backup/partner at the striker position.
While adding McCarthy would be a good signing, perhaps it’s not as important just yet.
Because he’s currently in a contract dispute (read as: wanting respect) it’ll take a while for things to settle between player and club.
Even though he’s keen on moving away from Goodison Park this summer, there’s a slight chance he’ll stay if the Toffees get serious and/or desperate enough to keep him.
As for Timo Werner, Tottenham have submitted a £7.5 million bid according to the German newspaper Bild (can’t Google translate).
However it was quickly rejected by VfB Stuttgart.
Interestingly enough Younès Kaboul was a potential target for Stuttgart this past January in the transfer window. It remains to be seen if they’re still interested and would agree to a player plus cash swap deal.
Onto the player profiles for these two and how they could help Tottenham.
James McCarthy (24) Central Midfielder / Everton | Republic of Ireland international
James McCarthy’s role is two-fold.
As a central midfielder he would maintain possession and help set up other players with his passing skills. When he would start games as a defensive midfielder, he would still maintain possession but help with the back four as much as possible.
In the process he would form a formidable duo with Gareth Barry.
For this past season James McCarthy made 23 appearances as a defensive midfielder with 11 appearances as a central midfielder.
Clearly he can play both positions, but seems more suited to being a defender.
For the ’14-’15 season, McCarthy had 2.4 tackles [PG], 1.6 interceptions [PG], 2.9 clearances [PG] and 0.8 blocks [PG] in the Premier League.
(Statistics for James McCarthy via WhoScored) **[PG] denotes as Per Game**
Getting James McCarthy would be nice, but it depends on Nabil Bentaleb staying.
Should Bentaleb move on, perhaps Ryan Mason could move into a defensive role; he’s shown he’s capable of tracking back and helping on out on defense. This way you don’t force Tom Carroll to waste his attacking skills to help out on defense.
Timo Werner (19) Center Forward / VfB Stuttgart | German international
One of many young German international stars in the making.
Timo Werner signed with VfB Stuttgart on July 1, 2013 and would debut a month later as a substitute when he was only 17-years old. On September 1, 2013 Werner would get his first official start.
Sadly his time as a full-time starter would be short lived as he would split his starts and substitutions for the rest of ’13-’14 season and for the ’14-’15 season.
Though his offensive numbers this past season weren’t good (3 goals and 1 assist) in all competitions, high expectations shouldn’t be placed on him. He’s still trying to learn the game as shown by his stats.
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For the ’14-’15 season, Werner had 0.9 shots [PG], 0.5 key passes [PG], 0.9 dribbles [PG], been offsides 0.6 times [PG], dispossessed 0.7 times [PG] and had bad control 1.4 times [PG] in the Budnesliga.
(Statistics for Timo Werner via WhoScored) **[PG] denotes as Per Game**
Not much to go on other than: 1.) He needs more game time and 2.) Is still only 19-years old. But the potential is there, especially if he’s been heralded as one of the next German stars; it’s only a matter of time until Timo Werner puts it all together.
If Tottenham had to choose between either player, it will depend on who’s currently on the squad following certain departures.
There’s also the possibility that James McCarthy and Timo Werner won’t sign.